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MEMOIRS 



RELATING TO 

EUROPEAN AND ASIATIC 



TURKEY, 

A>'D 

OTHER COUNTRIES OF THE EAST; 



EDITED PROM MANUSCRIPT JOURNALS, 

* 

*' / » 

BY 

ROBERT WALPOLE, M. A. 



THE SECOXD EDITION. 




A H KY0OI 

LONDON: 

PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN, 

PA TERNOSTER-R W. 
1818. 



Printed by A. Stralian, 
Printer*-Street, London. 



GENERAL TABLE 

OF 

CONTENTS. 



Preliminary Dissertation. — The Causes of the Weakness and Decline of 
the Turkish Monarchy ; and some Remarks on the System of Govern- 
ment pursued in the European and Asiatic Provinces of the Empire, 
by the Editor - Page 1 

I. Note respecting the Massacre of the Mamelukes by the Turks, in the 

year 1811 - - - - - - - 32 

II. Account of a Journey through the District of Maina in the Morea ; 

communicated by Mr. Morritt - - - 33 

Boundaries of Maina. — Calamata. — Ruins of Ancient Baths. — Thuria. — 
Government of Maina. — Manners of the People. — Cardamyle. — Vitulo. — The 
Ancient Gythium. 

III. Remarks illustrating Part of the preceding Journal ; from the Papers of 

the late Dr. Sibthorp - - - - - 60 

Fertility of Messenia. — The Festival of the Paschal Lamb. — Produce of the Dis- 
trict ofKutchuk Maina. — Silk, Cotton, Indian Com, Millet. — Caprification. — Use 
of the Euphorbia Apios. — Mount Taygetus. — Plants observed during the Journey. 

IV. Parnassus, and the neighbouring District ; from the Manuscripts of the 

late Dr. Sibthorp - - - - - - 64 

Village of Condoura. — Cith&ron. — Thespice. — Livadea. — Fishes in the Her- 
cyna. — Grotto of Trophonius. — Ascent of Parnassus. — Ruins of Delphi. — Mo- 
nastery of St. Luke. — Excursion to the Islands Didascalo and Ambelia, in 
the Sea of Corinth. 

Y. Observations on Natural History relating to Parts of Greece, and the 
Island of Cyprus ; from the Same - - - -73 

Domestic and Wild Animals, and Birds of Greece. — Quadrupeds, Bi?ds, and 
Fishes of Cyprus. 



iv 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



VI. Journey from Parium to the Troad. — Ascent to the Summit of Ida. — 

The Salt Springs of Tousla. — Ruins of Assos ; from the Journals of 
Dr. Hunt - - - - - - Page 84 

Chap. 1. Libraries in the Princes' Islands. — Proconnesian Marble. — Sponges on 
the Coast of Marmara. — The Cephus of the Ancient Greeks. — Parium. — Scenery 
and striking Appearance of the Country on the Banks of the Hellespont. — Lampsa- 
cus. — Arrival at the Dardanelles. — Prices of different Articles of Provision. 

Chap. 2. Hadim Oglou, the Governor of the Dardanelles. — Yenisher, or the Ancient 
Sigceum. — Cause of the Obliteration of the Characters on the Sigcean Stone. — Exor- 
cism, and other superstitious Rites. — Produce of Wool and Cotton on the Plain of 
Troy. — Greek Inscription in the supposed Tomb qf Achilles. — Greek Inscription re- 
lating to Kings Antiochus and Seleucus ; another, mentioning Agrippa. 

Chap. 3. Aqueduct over the River called Camara Sou. — Bounarbashi. — Singular 
Structure of the Wains used by the Peasantry qf the Troad — Journey to explore the 
Source of the Mender. — Pitch-burners from the Island of Salamis. — Summit of Ida. 

Chap. 4. Descent from Ida. — Extensive Ruins of Assos. — Remains of a Granite 
Temple, and of a Theatre. — Greek Inscriptions. — Sarcophagi of Granite. — Hot 
Salt Springs qf Tousla. — Reference of Strabo to the Salines qf Tragasea. — Votive 
Offerings at the Hot Baths. — Alexandria Troas. — Statistics qf Neachore. — 
Tenedos. 

VII. Remarks respecting Attica ; from the Journals of the late Dr. Sib- 

thorp - - - - - 141 

Goats and Sheep qf Attica. — Mode qf tending the Flocks. — Agriculture of the 
Country. — Process of Dying the Black and Yellow Leather. — Hymettus. 

VIII. Letters from the late Professor Carlyle, during his Residence in Tur- 
key, to the Lord Bishop of Lincoln - ... 152 

Letters from the Same, to the Lord Bishop of Durham - - 178 

IX. Mount Athos. — An Account of the Monastic Institutions, and the 

Libraries on the Holy Mountain ; from the Papers of Dr. Hunt 198 

Monastery of Batopaidi ; Contribution levied on it by the Porte. — Visits of nu- 
merous Pilgrims during the Holy Week. — The Library in that Monastery. — Rigid 
Fasts qf the Monks. — Journey to the Town of Chariess. — Convent of Coutloumoussi, 
and its Library. — Pantocratoras. — Pilgrims from the Thracian Hcemus ; their 
Offerings and Devotions. — Convent qf Stavronilceta. — Library. — Convent qf 
Iveron. — Visit to the remaining Convents on the Peninsula, and Examination 
of the Libraries. 

Note, respecting the Monastic Libraries in Greece .- - 221 

* Remarks on the Religious Communities of Athos. — Journey towards the Isthmus. — 
Remains of the Canal of Xerxes. State of the Countiy near the Ancient Acanthus ; 
Dress and Manners qf the People. — Visit qf Ceremony from a Bride. — Taxes and 
Imposts. — Silver Mines qf Nisvoro — The Plains near Salonica. — Tumuli. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



v 



X. Additional Remarks on the Sepulchres of the European and Asiatic 

Greeks, by the Editor - Page 230 

XI. Notice respecting Dr. Sibthorp's Journals, by the Editor - 233 

XII. Medicinal and Economical Uses of the Plants of Greece j from the 

Papers of the late Dr. Sibthorp - 235 

Notes by the Editor. 

XIII. Plants collected in Cyprus, by Dr. Hume ... 253 

XIV. Birds, Quadrupeds, and Fishes of Greece and Cyprus, with their 
Names in Romaic ; from the Papers of Dr. Sibthorp - - 255 

Notes by the Editor. 

XV. On the various Modes of Fishing practised by the Modern Greeks, by 

the Editor - - - - - - - 276 

XVI. Various Extracts from Dr. Sibthorp's Journals - - 278 

Sponge Gatherers off" the Coast of the Thracian Chersonesus. — Marine Productions. 

— Lemnos. — Depopulation of the Island. — The Lemnian Earth. — Euboea. — 
KiVo-« and Misletoe of the Ancients. — The " White Blackbird" of Aristotle. — The 
Murex of the Ancients. — Truffles of Laconia. — The Ferula, or vap9i)£ of Prometheus. 

— The Koopi of Cyprus. — Singular Custom qf making an Offering of Bread to the 
Fish Melanuros. — The roasted Liver of the Scarus. 

XVII. On the Olives and Vines of Zante. — On the Corn cultivated in that 
Island, and in Parts of the Ancient Bceotia. — The produce of Corn 
in some Districts of Greece ; from the Papers of Dr. Sibthorp, and 
from some Remarks communicated by Mr. Hawkins - - 288 

XVIII. Journal through Parts of Bceotia and Phocis, communicated by 

Mr. Raikes - - - - - 298 

Negropont. — The Straits qf the Euripus ; Anthedon j Larymna ; the River 
Cephissus ; Discharge qf the Waters qf the Lake Copais through the KotToifioQpu. 

Note respecting the Boeotian Catabothra and Copaic Lake, by the 
Editor - - - - - - - 305 

Continuation of Mr. Raikes' Journal - 307 

Rhamnus. — Ruins qf the Temple of Nemesis. — Inscribed Marble Chair. 

Note respecting the Qpovoi and Al$poi of the Greeks, by the Editor 309 
Ascent to the Corycian Cave ; and Copy of the Greek Inscription found 
near the Entrance of it ; communicated by Mr. Raikes - 311 

XIX. Remarks relating to the Military Architecture of the Ancient Greeks, 
from the Journals of the late Colonel Squire - - 316 



vi 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Four different Modes of Building observed in the Greek Fortresses. > — Instances qf 
the Use qf the IptxvTwcn;. — Sites of some qf the fortified Towns in Greece. 

XX. Antiquities of Athens : — Explanation of the Subject of the Vases facing 

p. 325. and p. 327. ; — and of the Sigillarium ; by the Editor Page 322 

XXI. Excavations in the Tombs of Attica ... 325, 326 
The AHKT0OI or Painted Vases of the Greeks - •' - 326 

XXII. The Plain of Marathon ; from the Papers of the late Col. Squire 329 

Situation and Extent qf the Plain : Advantages afforded to the Athenians by the 
Valley of Marathon in their Battle with the Persians. 

XXIII. Remarks on Parts of the Continent of Greece; from the Same 337 

Lebadea, Orchomenus, Chceronea, Platcea, Parnassus, Delphi. 

XXIV. The Isthmus of Corinth; from the Same ... 34,6 

XXV. Observations relating to some of the Antiquities of Egypt; from the 

Journals of the late Mr. Davison - ' - - - 350 

Height of the Great Pyramid of Giza, measured by the Steps. — Account qf the 
Well in the Great Pyramid, p. 355. - — Discovery by Mr. D. of the Chamber in the 
same Building, p. 359. — Pyramids of Sacara, p. 3G4. — Letters between Professor 
White and Mr. Davison, p. 367- 

Note respecting the Ancient Characters, and Covering on the Pyramids, 

by the Editor - - - - - 371 

Continuation of Mr. Davison's Papers : 

Catacombs of Alexandria surveyed and examined by Mr. Davison, p. 373. — Greek 
Inscription in them discovered by Mr. D., p. 376. — Remark relating to the Pillar 
raised at Alexandria in honour of Diocletian. — Singular Use of the word AlO^ in 
Greek prose. — Discovery by M. Qiuitremere of the name Pompeius, a Governor qf 
part of Lower Egypt in the reign of Diocletian, p. 380. 

XXVI. The Catacombs of Alexandria; the Paintings with which they were 
ornamented; Remarks on the Custom of painting Temples and Statues; 
Illustration of the singular Use of the Word Tpapw, by the Editor 381 

XXVII. Remarks on the Manners and Customs of the Modern Inhabitants of 
Egypt ; from the Journals of Dr. Hume - - - 388 

Shops and Bazars of Roselta. — Egyptian Arabs. — Houses, and Modes qf Life. — 
Money-changers. — Ethiopian and Circassian Women. — Moslem Marriage. — Ser- 
pent eaters. — Levantines, and Cojitic Inhabitants. 

XXVIII. Journal of a Voyage up the Nile into Part of Nubia, in May 1814 ; 
by Captain Light - - - - - 407 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Vll 



Departure from Assouan. — Destruction occasioned by the Locusts. — Gartaas. — 
Remains of Antiquity. — Arrival at Taeefa. — Entrance of the Cataracts of Galab- 
shee. — Suspicion and Jealousy expressed by the Inhabitants. — Ruins at Galabshee. — 
Temples of Dulckey. — Greek Inscriptions relating to Mercury. — Interview with a 
Cashief — Arrival at Deir. — Mamelukes at Dongola. — Reception by the Son of the 
Cashief of Deir. — Ibrim. — Application of human Saliva to the Cure of Disorders. — 
Voyage down the River, and Arrival at Seboo. — Remains of Antiquity. — Two Rows of 
Sphinxes, and gigantic Figures in alto-relievo. — Oiffendoone. — Caravan of Gelabs, 
or Slave Merchants. — Deboo. — Nature of the Hostilities between the People of Deboo 
and a neighbouring Village. — Character of the Inhabitants between Philce and Ibrim. 

— Language of the Nubians. — Religion ; Dress ; Arms ; Trade. 

XXIX. On the Mines of Laurium. — Gold and Silver Coinage of the 

Athenians. — Revenue of Attica ; by the Editor and the Earl of 

Aberdeen - Page 431 

District of Laurium full of exhausted Mines and Scoriae. — Site of the smelting 
Furnaces. — Neglect of the Mines in the Age of Augustus. — Interior Management 
and Mode of working the Ore in the Time of the Athenians. — Incorrect Explanation of 
the Word xoirreiv by Sperling. — Silver Money of Attica. — Weight of different Tetra- 
drachms. — Attempt to explain the Reason of the Rudeness in Design and Execution of 
the Silver Money of Athens. — Sources of the Athenian Revenue. — Prices of Corn 
and Meat in Attica in different Years. — Athenian Gold Coin. — Reason why it was 
so scarce. 

XXX. Remarks on Two sculptured Marbles brought from Amyclse ; by the 
Earl of Aberdeen - 4£2 

XXXI. Illustration of various Greek Inscriptions, by the Editor - 458 

XXXII. On the Topography of Athens ; by Mr. Hawkins - - 480 

Line of Pausa?iias's Approach to Athens. — Position of the Pireean Gate. — Foun- 
tain Callirhoe and Eleusinium. — Extent of the inner Ceramicus, including the Agora, 

— Situation of it to the South of the Acropolis. — Mistake of the Abbe Barthelemy. — 
Discovery of the Site of the Academy. — The new Agora. — Gymnasium of Ptolemy. 

— Temple of Theseus. — Sacred Enclosure of Agraulus, on the East of the Acropolis. 

— Prytaneum. — Corinthian Columns of the Olympium, and History of that Temple, — 
Pausanias returns to the Prytaneum, and begins his Third Excursion by the Street of 
the Tripods. — Temple of Bacchus in Limnis. — Theatre. — Odeum of Themistocles. 

— Odeum of Pericles. — Temple appropriated to Ceres under two different denomi- 
nations. - — The consistency of Pausanias 's Narrative. — Hill of the Museum. — 
Grotto of Apollo and Pan. — Areopagus. — Reason of Pausanias s Silence respecting 
Pnyx. — Recapitulation of the Points fxedby this Enquhy. — Remarks on the Method 
observable in Pausanias's Description of the Antiquities, and on his Omissions. — Gene- 
ral view of the Position of the Public Buildings and their Classification. — Refutation 
of a new. Hypothesis, respecting the Topography of Athens, founded on a new Application 
of the Inscriptions on the Arch of Hadrian. — On the Walls of Athens. — Their June- 



viii 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Hon with the Long Walls, admitting of one Gate only of Communication. — Superior 
Strength of the Northern Long Wall, and its great Importance. — Difficulties in ascer- 
taining the Position of the Gates. — Their Names, and the Order of their Succession. — 
Athens how supplied with Water. — Proofs of the early Introduction of Aqueducts. — 
K^vai mentioned by Thucydides. — Their ruinous State in the Time of Pausanias. — 
Aqueduct built by Hadrian and Antonine. — The Modern City, how supplied with 
Water. 

XXXIII. On the Long Walls which connected Athens with the Piraeus 

Page 522 

General Opinion both in Ancient and in Modern Times respecting their Number. — 
The Authorities on which the Notion of Three Long Walls rests, critically examined. — 
Presumptive Evidence of the Number being confined to Two. — A direct Proof of this. — 
The Policy of their Erection. 

XXXIV. The Vale of Tempe ; by Mr. Hawkins - - 528 

Visit to Tempe in the Years 1795, 1797« — General Appearance and Character of 
the Plains of Thessaly. — The Defile of Tempe. — Its Formation ascribed to the Effect 
of some violent Convulsion of the Strata. — Obvious Reasons for this Opinion. — The 
Drainage of Thessaly dependant upon Tempe. — Connection of this Spot with some 
important Events in the History of Greece. — List of some of the Plants observed in 
the Vale of Tempe. 

XXXV. The Syrinx of Strabo, and the Passage of the Euripus ; by 
Mr. Hawkins - 539 

Description by Strabo of the Bridge built by the Chalcidians and Boeotians across 
the Straits of the Euripus. — Explanation of the Term %vpiy% used by the Geographer. 
— Importance of closing the Passage of the Euripus. — Attempt to ascertain the 
Situation of the Coela of Eubcea. 

XXXVI. Panoramic View of Athens, illustrated by Mr. Haygarth 550 

XXXVII. Remarks on the Thesauri of the Greeks, by the Editor - 561 

Different Uses of the Word Thesauros ; applied first to Buildings of the Heroic Ages 
of Greece ; secondly, to a Species of Chapel, or Sacred Edifice ; thirdly, to a Granary, 
or Excavation made in the Rock for preserving Corn. 

XXXVIII. Remarks on the Troad, contained in a Letter from Mr. Morritt to 
Dr. Clarke - - - - - - 567 

XXXIX. Remarks on the Architectural Inscription brought from Athens, 
and now preserved in the British Museum ; by Mr. Wilkins - 580 

Illustration of Parts of the preceding Inscription, by the Editor. 

XL. References to Mr. Foster's Map of the Troad - - 604 

XLI. Remarks on the Demetrian System of the Troad, by the Editor 607 



LIST OF THE PLATES. 



Map, Graecia Antiqua - - - To face the Title 

Sigillarium Page 324 

AHKTQOSATTIKO^ 325 

AHKT0O3 327 

Plain of Marathon 334 

Marbles brought from Amyclae ----- 452 
A New Plan of Athens, by Fauvel - - - - 481 
Panoramic View of Athens, PI. I. - - 

PL IL " " I 550 
PI. III. - - f 55U 

P1.IV. - - } 

Inscription brought from Athens - - - - 585 

Temple of Minerva at Athens 591 

The Troad 604 



PREFACE. 



The information derived from those who visit various provinces of 
the Turkish empire is of a very different nature from that which is 
collected in travelling through parts of civilised Europe. In the 
former case, we not only become acquainted with a people whose 
habits, institutions, religion, policy, and usages, are entirely opposite 
to those which we find in Christian Europe ; but from researches 
connected with the geography and natural history of these countries 
we are able to explain many passages of the sacred writers, as well as 
of other ancient authors ; the customs * also and modes of life which 



* Travellers who have visited parts of Syria and Egypt make frequent mention of 
customs and habits of life similar to those which prevailed in the time of the writers of 
the Old and New Testament ; but no one, before Captain Light, ever pointed out a 
singular opinion still existing in the East, and which was common in Palestine 1800 years- 
ago, respecting the use of saliva in certain diseases of the body. See the account in this 
volume, p. 421., of the person at Ibrim in Nubia applying for a cure of the head-ache; 
and of the woman at Hermonthis in Egypt, who requested C. Light to spit on her eyes. 
" How far spittle was accounted wholesome for weak eyes," says Lightfoot, in his Hebrew 
and Talmudical exercitations on John ix., " we may learn from the following tale relating 
to R. Meir." We shall extract a part of it. " Is there ever a woman, said Rabbi Meir, 
among you, skilled in muttering charms over eyes ? the woman said, R. I am not skilled ; 
however, saith he, do thou spit seven times on my eyes, and I shall be healed." See 
Mark viii. 23. and vii. 33. 

The passage from Capt Light's Journal should be inserted in any future edition of 
Harmer. 

a 



X 



PREFACE. 



still prevail in Syria and Egypt, afford occasionally excellent illus- 
trations of the Holy Scriptures ; and coins, vases, inscriptions, throw 
light on the state of the arts among the Greeks, on different parts of 
their history ; and on the palaeography and dialects of their language. 

But no person is qualified to pay equal attention to the various 
subjects which present themselves to his notice, in a journey through 
European and Asiatic Turkey ; and any acquaintance with the 
geography, natural history, statistics, and antiquities of these countries 
is often obtained with great difficulty, even by those who are best 
prepared to direct their attention to such pursuits. 

A selection, therefore, from the journals of different travellers, 
may be the means of bringing together in a single volume a greater 
variety of information than we can expect to find in the work of any 
individual. 

Although the publications of our countrymen, as well as of others 
who have recently visited the Levant, have added many valuable 
materials to those which we before possessed, relating to different 
parts of the Turkish empire, yet the field of enquiry is so wide, that 
much remains still to engage the notice and attention of future 
travellers. Our knowledge of these countries is necessarily acquired 
by slow degrees ; various circumstances occasionally interrupt the 
researches of those who explore them ; some provinces, in consequence 
of the want of an able and efficient system of government, are exposed 
to the incursions of robbers and wandering tribes ; through these the 
traveller is obliged to pass in haste j at other times, sickness, arising 
from the heat of the climate or from the season of the year, impedes his 
progress. The want of ready communication with the inhabitants, 
together with the ignorance and jealousy so frequently displayed by 
them, are obstacles to his acquiring the information which he seeks. 
To these, we must add the dangers he incurs in exploring the more 
uncivilised districts of the empire. 



PREFACE. XI 

While, therefore, we are thus prevented from obtaining a more 
complete knowledge of these countries, it is hoped that an attempt 
to supply the deficiencies of it, according to the plan adopted in the 
present work, will be favourably received. 

The observations of those whose papers are now published for the 
first time, are communicated either in the form of journals and letters, 
or detached essays. There are advantages attending each of these 
separate modes ; in the former, the remarks of the traveller are 
given as they presented themselves to his mind on the spot, without 
any unnecessary amplification or expansion ; and in adopting the 
latter method, the writer by subsequent reading and enquiry is able 
to bestow more attention on the subject than is consistent with the 
form of a mere narrative or journal. 

There are, indeed, many subjects which have not been sufficiently 
illustrated, either in the present work, or in those already published, 
relating to the Turkish empire. Yet every information of an original 
kind, and drawn from authentic sources, is of importance ; and if 
those Europeans who are settled in the great cities of the East would 
note down carefully their remarks, and institute enquiries on various 
subjects, we should soon be in possession of many new documents. 
A residence on the spot affords excellent opportunities for acquiring 
or correcting; information. Materials for the valuable work of 
Dr. Russell were prepared in this manner ; and during the twelve 
years which were passed by D'Arvieux in the Levant, he collected a 
greater number of facts respecting the Turks, their manners and 
customs, than Europeans in general have been able to acquire. There 
are many objects of research which the transient traveller, however 
inquisitive, cannot investigate fully ; these may fall more properly 
under the observation of those who are resident in the country. 

It is to be regretted that a plan suggested by the Editor of Russell's 
Aleppo, in his preface to that work, has never yet been adopted. 

a 2 



xii PREFACE. 

He proposes that a collection of books on astronomy, ancient geo- 
graphy, and natural history, together with a few instruments, should 
be placed in each of the commercial settlements in the Levant ; and 
that heads of enquiry under the form of queries should be adapted to 
the respective stations. There can be little doubt that a well-arranged 
plan of this nature would conduce materially to our knowledge of 
parts of Greece and Asia. It would stimulate enquiry, and direct 
usefully some portion of that time which might be spared by persons 
engaged in commercial pursuits, or by those who are resident as 
consuls in some of the cities of the East. 

If this plan, or one similar to it, cannot be easily carried into 
effect, the Editor hopes, that at different intervals of time selections 
will be made, partly from the papers of those travellers, who, although 
they have been prevented by death from completing their labours, 
may have left behind them remarks too valuable to be forgotten ; 
partly from the observations of others, who may have directed their 
enquiries to new subjects, or have examined less frequented districts 
of the Turkish empire. If the journals of these travellers should be 
judged by the authors of them too small to form separate publications, 
still they may properly find their place in a volume, which shall in- 
corporate and connect them with the remarks of others relating to the 
same countries. 

The Editor now proceeds to acknowledge the obligations which he 
has received from those gentlemen who have communicated to him 
the different papers and remarks which are published for the first 
time in the present volume. 

An Account of a Journey through the District of Maina, in the 
Morea, p. 33. 

This extract, from the papers of Mr. Morritt, relates to a part of 
Greece which has seldom been explored. Indeed an account so full 



PREFACE. x iii 

and so detailed of the character and manners of the Mainots * is no 
where to be found. The district of the Peloponnesus occupied by 
them is the portion of it bordering on the Messenian and Laconian 
gulfs. The spirit of piracy and plunder which made them so long 
the terror of the Archipelago and neighbouring seas, appears to have 
been softened in some degree by commercial pursuits. A traveller 
in the early part of the seventeenth century thus describes them : 



* The Mainots are called by Constantine Porphyrog. xacrrpoy Mortvr); oixyTogct;, de Ad. 
Imp. c. 50. On the eastern part of the country occupied by them they are joined by the 
Tzacones descended from the ancient Laconians, and inhabiting a district of the Morea 
between Nauplia and Epidaurus Limera. Many Doric forms are retained by the Tzacones 
in their language; some instances of which are given by Villoison. They say oy^fs for 
ixfy* (in Sappho we find o^tstov for kpmTov), x«px>j for x*? rr l 5 ( tne Dorians said aWoxct for 
«XAoTs), also 8ovyxTrip and ^oo^a. They use v«ut« and irpoffini, the Homeric nominative, 
instead of vawnjj and irfofyri);. — See the Prolegom. ad Horn. xlix. and his MS. notes on 
Pindar, referred to by Schaefer, p. 90'. in Greg, de D. and Leake's Researches, p. 200. 

We learn from Mr. Hawkins, that the names of the villages of the Tzaccuniotes are 
Prasto, Castanitza, and Sitena ; they have also a few hamlets or summer habitations under 
the name of Kalivia. All these belong to the province of Mistra, though they are situated 
in the Villaete of Agios Petros. Prasto, in respect to its Greek population, is nearly equal 
to Tripolizza, containing from 800 to 1000 houses. Except a few small plains on the 
sea-coast, the country of Tzaccunia is entirely mountainous, and of course it is not produc- 
tive of corn, but supports very numerous flocks of goats and sheep. Cheese, therefore, is the 
principal object of exportation ; and next to this, Prino Cocci, or scarlet grains, which are 
gathered from the Prinari or Quercus Ilex. The inhabitants are celebrated for their skill 
in draining ground, and in conducting water ; and are preferred to all others in executing 
works of this kind in the Ionian islands. A considerable part of the whole population not 
finding employment at home migrate either periodically, at particular seasons of the year, 
or for a certain time. Many, for instance, visit Patras, where they are occupied in attend- 
ing to the currant vineyards. About three hundred leave Tzaccunia every year for Zeitun 
near Thermopylae, where they are employed during three months in the cultivation of the 
rice grounds. It is computed that about the same number are resident at Constantinople, 
most of whom follow the occupation of Baccalides (grocers and purveyors of victuals). The 
bread-sellers in that city are chiefly Armenians ; but the hirelings whom they employ to 
grind the corn in horse-mills and to bake the bread are Tzaccuniotes. 



xiv PREFACE. 

" Agreste et ferox genus hominum lorica induti, arcum in manibus 
gestant, et nullius parent imperio ; sed rapinis et latrociniis assueti 
obscuram ducunt vitam, Christiani nomine, sed reipsa barbari et exleges 
plane." Cotovic, Itin. 61. 

Remarks added to the Journal of Mr. Morritt, illustrating Part of his 
Route through the ancient Messenia and Laconia : — from the Papers of 
the late Dr. Sibthorp, p. 60.* 

" In the year 1784, Professor Sibthorp projected his first tour into 
Greece, and engaged a draftsman of great excellence, Mr. F. Bauer, 
to be the companion of his expedition ; they arrived in Crete in 
1786. This island and many other parts of the Levant were exa- 
mined by Dr. Sibthorp in that and the following year ; and he was 
enabled to collect a large mass of documents respecting the birds, and 
fishes, and plants of those celebrated countries, and to satisfy many 
enquiries respecting the state of agriculture and medicine among the 
inhabitants of them. 

" Dr. Sibthorp's constitution had suffered much from the fatigues 
and exertions undergone by him during his journey into Greece ; yet 
sensible how much was still wanting to perfect the undertaking which 
he had originally designed, he determined to devote himself to the 
further prosecution of it, namely the botanical investigation of 
Greece, and especially the determination of the plants mentioned by 
its classical authors. 

« In 1794, he again set out for Turkey ; and was joined at Constan- 
tinople by Mr. Hawkins, who had accompanied him during part of 



* These remarks are published by the permission of Mr. Hawkins, to whom the Editor is 
also indebted for many communications, which are properly noticed, wherever they occur, 
in this work. 



PREFACE. XV 

his former tour. They visited the plain of Troy, the isles of Imbros 
and Lemnos, the peninsula of Athos, passed some time in Attica; 
proceeded on their journey to the Morea, where they spent two 
months, examining the most interesting parts of that province. 

" They reached Zante on the 29th of April, and there Dr. S. parted 
from the faithful companion of his journey, whom he was destined 
never to see again, but in whose friendship he safely confided in 
his last hours. Mr. H. returned to Greece ; the Professor left Zante 
for Otranto ; on the voyage he was detained by a contrary wind at 
Prevesa, and visiting the ruins of Nicopolis caught a severe cold, 
from which he never recovered. It seems to have proved the ex- 
citing cause of that disease, which had long been latent in the 
mesenteric and pulmonary glands, and which terminated in a con- 
sumption. He arrived in England in 1795, and died at Bath in 
1796, in the 38th year of his age. 

" The posthumous benefits which Dr. S. has rendered to his beloved 
science are sufficient to rank him among its most illustrious patrons. 
By his will, dated 1796, he gives a freehold estate in Oxfordshire 
to the University of Oxford, for the purpose of first publishing his 
Flora Graeca, in ten folio volumes, with 100 coloured plates in each, 
and a Prodromus of the same work, in octavo, without plates. . His 
executors, the Hon. T. Wenman, J. Hawkins, and T. Piatt, Es- 
quires, were to appoint a sufficiently competent editor of these works, 
to whom the MSS. drawings and specimens were to be confided. 
They fixed upon the writer of the present article, who has now 
nearly completed the Prodromus, and the second volume of the 
Flora. In preparing the latter work, the final determination of 
the species, the distinctions of such as were new, and all critical 
remarks have fallen to his lot; he has also revised the references to 
Dioscorides, and with Mr. Hawkins's help, corrected the modern Greek 
names. When these publications are finished, the annual sum of 2001. 



xv i PREFACE. 

is to be paid to a professor of Rural Economy, and the remainder 
of the rents of the estate above mentioned is destined to purchase 
books for him."* 

Journey in Asia Minor : — from Parium to the Troad : — Ascent to 
the Summit of Ida : — the Salt Springs of Tousla : — the Ruins of 
Assos. — From the Papers of Dr. Hunt, p. 84. 

In this journey, Dr. Hunt was accompanied by the late Professor 
Carlyle. In their survey of the Troad, they were conducted by their 
guides to a part of the country which no traveller has yet visited. Of 
the magnificent ruins at Assos, there has been hitherto no published 
account ; they are slightly mentioned in the Voyage Pittoresque of 
M. de Choiseul. 



The Editor acknowledges his obligations to Shute Barrington, 
Lord Bishop of Durham, and to George Tomline, Lord Bishop of 
Lincoln, for the letters of the late Professor Carlyle, addressed to 
them from Constantinople and other parts of Turkey, p. 152. 

Various and contradictory reports had been circulated at different 
times, respecting the contents of the library of the Seraglio. 
Toderini (T. 2. Letterat. Turches) was informed that it contained 
many volumes in the Oriental dialects, and some manuscripts of the 
Greek and Latin writers. In answer tp the enquiries of the Abbe 
Sevin, it was said, that the MSS. had been burnt. Dositheus, in his 
History of the Patriarchs of Jerusalem, printed in 1715, mentions 
the library of the Greek emperors as still existing. The late Pro- 



* Tne account in the text, relating to Dr. Sibthorp, is taken, by permission of Sir J. 
Smith, from a more enlarged memoir printed in Rees's Cyclopaedia. 



PREFACE. xv i[ 

fessor Carlyle was requested by Mr. Pitt and the Bishop of Lincoln 
to direct his attention particularly, during his residence at Constanti- 
nople, towards obtaining some satisfactory information on this subject; 
and one of his letters contains a very detailed and valuable statement, 
the result of his researches and personal enquiries. 

The accuracy of the account given by Mr. Carlyle, has been 
strongly confirmed by the publication of some part of the journals of 
M. Girardin, who was ambassador from France at the Porte, in the 
year 1685. It appears from the enquiries that were then made, that 
the Greek MSS. and books in the library amounted to about 1200. 
A renegado Italian, in the service of the Selictar, the chief officer of the 
Seraglio, brought away* from it many of the works at successive times ; 
and fifteen of these volumes, written partly on vellum, partly on paper, 
were selected by Besnier, the Jesuit, and purchased by him for the 
ambassador. The remainder of the Greek works were sold at Pera; 
Us ont ete vendus sur le pied de 100 livres chacun : ainsi il rCen reste 
plus de cette langue dans le serail. This account j" , (with which 
Mr. Carlyle was entirely unacquainted,) corresponds with the state- 
ment given by him to the Bishop of Lincoln. He found in the 
library many works in the Oriental dialects ; but none written in 
Greek. % 



* The plunder of the library had already commenced in 1638, as we learn from a letter 
of Greaves : " I have procured, among other works, Ptolemy's Almagest, the fairest book 
that I have seen ; stolen by a Spahy, as I am informed, out of the King's library in the 
Seraglio." Vol. ii. p. 437- 

f It was not published in the life-time of Professor Carlyle. See " Notice des MSS. du 
Roi." T.viii. 

% An Arabic translation of a lost work of Aristotle, ttoXitsIui 7roAe«v, existed at Constan- 
tinople so late as the 1089th year of the Hegira; and is quoted by Hadjee Kalfa, who lived 
at that time, in his Bib. Orient. See Villoison, in Ac. des Inscr. xlvii. 322. The dis- 
covery of this MS. would be a literary acquisition of some value. 

b 



xv jji PREFACE. 

Of the MSS. which were procured by M. Girardin, and were after- 
wards brought to Paris, two were consulted by Wyttenbach and 
Larcher ; a manuscript of Plutarch, by the former ; and one of 
Herodotus, by the latter. 

Mount Athos, from the Papers of Dr. Hunt, p. 198. 

At the time when the capital of the Greek empire was in danger 
of being attacked by the Turks, the most valuable of the manuscripts 
of the learned Greeks were taken to Mount Athos, as a place of 
safety. The libraries of Paris, Vienna, and Moscow, contain many 
which have been brought from that peninsula* ; and persons have 
been sent at different times to procure others, which are preserved 
in some of the convents. We have, however, no recent or authentic 
account of the actual state of the monastic institutions at Athos. 
Dr. Hunt and Professor Carlyle, during a residence of three weeks 
there, collected much information relating to them, and examined 
with particular attention the different libraries -f- on the Holy 
Mountain. 

Remarks on Parts of Bceotia and Phocis ; from the Journals of 
Mr. Raikes, p. 298. 



* Some have supposed that the entire copy of Livy was to be found at Athos. — Gib- 
bon's Miscell. Works, Vol. iii. p. 375. 

f Many of the MSS. in these libraries were probably written by the monks who exer- 
cised the office of calligraphs; others were given as presents on particular occasions. 
Maxim us gave a manuscript of Chrysostom with some books to the monastery of Diony- 
sius. Gregory, Bishop of Elasson (the ancient Oloosson in Thessaly), presented a manu- 
script of the Gospel of St. John to the convent of Pantocratos. — Mem. de l'Instit. 1815. 



PREFACE. 



The Plain of Marathon, from the Papers of the late Colonel 
Squire, p. 329. 

In the year 1802, Colonel Squire was engaged with Colonel Leake 
and Mr. Hamilton in a tour through parts of Greece ; the plain of 
Marathon, the defile of Thermopylae, and the site of the battle of 
Platsea were particularly examined by them ; and plans of these 
spots so celebrated in the history of Greece, were taken. 

" The surveys," to use the words of Colonel Squire*, " were made 
from abase measured by a chain ; the principal points being ascertain- 
ed by angles observed with a theodolite." It is probable, that the 
delay of publishing these plans arose from a desire of collecting some 
additional details, and thus rendering them more full and perfect. 
The topographical sketch, which is now engraved from the papers of 
Colonel Squire, however incomplete, will serve to illustrate the 
observations made by him and his companions on the spot. More 
accurate geographical information respecting this and other parts of 
Greece, may be shortly expected from Sir W. Gell, Mr. Hawkins, 
and Colonel Leake, who have applied themselves with great industry, 
to a survey of different districts of this country. Nos meilleurs 
cartes de ce pays ne sont encore que des cartes hypothetiques. Tra- 
duction de Strabon. T. iii. 101. 



* John Squire, late Lieutenant-Colonel in the Royal Corps of Engineers, was an officer 
of distinguished talents. His death is sincerely lamented by his relatives ; and by those 
who had various opportunities of being acquainted with the excellences of his heart and 
understanding. He served his country in Egypt, South America, Holland, and Spain; 
and died at Truxillo during the Peninsular war, A. D. 1812, in the thirty-third year of his 
age, the victim of excessive fatigue and exertion. 

'H [LUKOL 8r) 7T6p» <T£I0 XvypOV 7T0TjX0V I'jcAue TTOLTpCi. 

The extracts from Colonel Squire's papers are printed by permission of the Rev. E. Squire. 

b 2 



XX 



PREFACE. 



Observations relating to some of the Antiquities of Egypt, from the 
Papers of the late Mr. Davison, p. 350. 

Nathaniel Davison, Esq. was British consul at Algiers : he accom- 
panied Mr. Wortley Montague to Egypt, in the year 1763 ; resided 
eighteen months at Alexandria ; as many at Cairo; and from that 
place visited frequently the pyramids of Giza.* 

During his stay in Egypt, he made some excursions in the vicinity 
of Alexandria with the Duke de Chaulnes ; they afterwards embarked 
together on board of the same vessel for Europe. While they were 
performing quarantine in the Lazaretto at Leghorn, the Duke con- 
trived by means of a false key to obtain and copy Mr. Davison's 
papers and drawings, f Coming afterwards to London, he advertised 
a publication of his own researches with drawings by Mr. Davison, 
whom he called his secretary. £ The design of the work was laid 
aside, in consequence of a strong remonstrance on the part of 
Mr. Davison, conveyed in a letter to the Duke, Sept. 9. 1783, the 
very day on which the latter expected an engraver to wait upon him. 
A proposal of a joint publication was then made to Mr. D., which he 
declined. Two plates from Mr. Davison's drawings are engraved in 
Sonnini's travels, and must have been communicated by the Duke. 



* Mr. D. died in 1809. His Journals, Plans, and Drawings are in the possession of his 
widow, Mrs. Davison, of Alnwick, in Northumberland, and his nephew Dr. Yelloly, of 
Finsbury-square. From these papers the Editor has been permitted to select the extracts 
now published for the first time in the present volume. 

f This is stated on the authority of Mr. Meadley (the author of the life of Paley), who 
was well acquainted with Mr. Davison. 

X This tract, in which Mr. D. is called the secretary to the Due de Chaulnes, is in the 
possession of Mr. Meadley. 



PREFACE. xx i 

The merit of the discovery* of the room in the great pyramid at 
Giza, over the chamber which contains the Sarcophagus, is due 
solely to Mr. Davison : no traveller before or since his time has 
examined it ; nor has any one been induced by curiosity to descend 
so far into another part of the same building. Very little was 
known of the catacombs of Alexandria before he examined them : 
they seem to have been scarcely noticed by preceding travellers. 
He was the first who surveyed the whole of these extensive 
cemeteries ; and the plan of the Necropolis among his papers, is 
nearly as full and complete as that which was afterwards made by 
the French. 

Remarks on the Manners and Customs of the Modern Inhabitants of 
Egypt ; from the Journals of Dr. Hume. 

Journal of a Voyage up the Nile, between Philce and Ibrim, in 
Nubia, in May 1814, by Captain Light. 

On the Topography of Athens ; communicated by Mr. Hazvkins. 

On the Vale of Tempe ; by the same. 

On the Syrinx of Strabo, and the Passage of the Euripus ; by the 
same. 



* Mr. D.'s discovery is mentioned by Niebuhr and Bruce : the former says, " Je ne fus 
pas assez heureux pour y decouvrir une chambre, jusqu' alors inconnue, et qui fut decou- 
verte apres notre depart par Mr. Davison." Vol. i. p. 161. The latter says, " Mr. D. 
discovered the chamber above the landing place." Vol. i. p. 41 . Maillet had been forty 
times in the pyramid, and had no knowledge of the chamber. 



xx [[ PREFACE. 

Panoramic View of Athens, illustrated by Mr.Haygarth. 

Letter from Mr. Morritt to Dr. Clarke, respecting the Plain of Troy. 

The Architectural Inscription brought from Athens, explained and 
translated by Mr, Wilhins, 



PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 



THE CAUSES OF THE WEAKNESS AND DECLINE OF THE TURKISH MONARCHY, 
AND SOME REMARKS ON THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT PURSUED IN THE 
EUROPEAN AND ASIATIC PROVINCES OF THE EMPIRE. 

ThE history of no country has been distinguished by conquests so 
rapid and extensive, as those which attended the progress of the 
Turkish arms from the time of Othman to the establishment of their 
power over the fairest parts of Asia and Europe. The Christian 
world viewed their successes with alarm * ; and the different states 
were exhorted to lay aside all mutual animosities, by the danger with 
which they were threatened, -j- The nations of Europe have derived 
strength and security from the general improvement of human 
reason, and the cultivation of the arts of peace and war. In the 
meantime, the spirit of military enterprise has declined among the 
Turks ; the vigorous age of their monarchy is past ; and the weak- 
ness of their empire has been exposed to their enemies, and parts of 
it have been invaded, or wrested from them. 



* " The Turk," says Lord Bacon, " is the most potent and most dangerous enemy of 
the faith." 

f Many treatises were written to rouse the Christian nations against the infidels. " J. 
" Reusnerus, (says Bayle,) a recueilli plusieurs volumes de ces harangues, qui ont ete 
" publiees pour exhorter les princes Chretiens a unir leurs forces contre les infidelles." 
Art. Mahomet. 2. Note E. 

B 



2 



CAUSES OF THE WEAKNESS AND DECLINE 



In examining the causes which have produced this decline, we 
may first advert to one deserving of more consideration, than it has 
generally received. We allude to the discovery of the navigation to 
India by the Cape of Good Hope. Before that great event took 
place, the Venetians had formed establishments in the ports of Syria 
and Egypt, to which the productions and manufactures of the East 
were brought ; they had received various privileges of trade from the 
Mamelukes, which Selim the First afterwards confirmed. The va- 
luable commodities of China and India would have continued to 
reach these coasts, or would have been conveyed over land to the 
Black Sea, and thence by a short navigation to Constantinople. It 
was fortunate for the security and happiness of Europe, that the 
communication with the East was directed at that time into a differ- 
ent channel ; the throne of Turkey was filled by sovereigns of great 
energy and enterprise, and the Christian states would not have 
resisted that power which the increasing wealth of their enemies 
might have enabled them to create and maintain. But when Turkey 
no longer continued mistress of the commerce of that age*, her 
national strength began to be impaired ; her armies were no longer 
supported by the great means which were essential to the promotion 
and extension of her views against the peace of the Christian world, 
and her importance in the political system of Europe was greatly 
diminished. 

2. The change occasioned by this circumstance has been followed 
by another in the constitution of the government of equal importance. 
The Turkish empire could only be supported by vigour and absolute 
power in the centre, by a promptness and decision which should 
pervade the whole system of administration, by a quick communi- 
cation with the remotest parts of the provinces, by an army ready 



* " About the year ] 620, the voyages by sea to the East Indies had so lowered the 
prices of Indian merchandise, that the trade between India and Turkey, by the Persian 
Gulph and the Red Sea, having much decayed, the Grand Signior's customs were greatly 
lessened." Anderson, xi. 3. 



OF THE TURKISH MONARCHY. 



to check and subdue the first symptoms of rising independence and 
insurrection. The author of Oceana* considered the policy and 
structure of all absolute monarchies in the East, to be not only con- 
tained, but meliorated in the Turkish government ; and if we reflect 
upon the short duration of some of the Asiatic dynasties in Persia and 
India ; if we consider that China has been four times subject to Tar- 
tar nations since the tenth century, we have reason to conclude that 
an empire which has now supported itself nearly five hundred years, 
has not been placed on weak foundations. While the Turkish 
Sultans were at the head of their troops, and kept in fear and sub- 
jection the different provinces, they could enforce and establish 
their ordinances ; they were ready to protect or punish ; they were 
rarely disturbed by the struggle of different competitors for power ; 
the vigour of the armies was not suffered to relax. But a due regard 
to the extensive concerns and interests of the empire has proved a 
task too great for the degenerate successors of Selim, Mahomet, and 
Soliman. The stability of their monarchy depends on an adherence 
to those principles which first formed, and afterwards maintained it. 
The military ardour of the people is no longer nursed by fanaticism 
and enthusiasm ; a decrease of reputation abroad, has been accompa- 
nied by internal weakness and decay. In proportion to the want of 
firmness and energy which have characterised the measures of the 
Divan, its authority has been disregarded, and the governors of 
various parts of the empire have had time to form their schemes of 
aggrandisement. While the customary tribute has been delayed by 
some, under various pretences, others more or less openly, according 
to the opportunities which present themselves, have disclaimed all 
allegiance ; whole tracts are wasted in the wars kindled on these occa- 
sions ; and in the nature and violence of the hostilities we are fre- 
quently reminded of those which belong to the history of the feudal 
times in Europe. 



Art of Lawgiving, 368. 
B 2 



4 



CAUSES OF THE WEAKNESS AND DECLINE 



3. The condition of the provinces has been also affected by an 
alteration in the mode of appointing the governors of them. 
Formerly they were bestowed on slaves who had received their edu- 
cation in the seraglio ; who considered the Sultan as sole master of 
their destiny : pretended to no sovereignty over their districts but 
that which flowed from his good will, and were prepared to resign 
them at his command, and return into the obscure situation from 
which they had been taken.* But when the nomination to these 
principalities could be obtained by paying great sums to those who 
held power and office at Constantinople, many parts of the empire 
were exposed to plunder and oppression. The Turkish Pasha, like 
the Roman Proconsul f, is obliged to satisfy the rapacity of the 
officers in the capital ; if the demands of the Porte increase, the 
provincial governor must comply with them ; the continuance in his 
district must be purchased by new contributions, or by sharing some 
part of the treasure accumulated by him for the purpose of pro- 
curing another government, upon his removal from that which he 
possesses. Uncertain, in the meantime, how long he may enjoy his 
present dignity, he is regardless of gaining the attachment or appro- 
bation of his subjects ; his time is not employed in projecting works 
of public utility, or forming schemes for the general improvement 
of the province, or for securing and facilitating the intercourse 
between different parts of it. 

4. The labour and industry of every country, whether they are 
directed to agricultural or commercial pursuits, are regulated by the 
manner in which wealth is diffused among the inhabitants. The 
very unequal distribution of it in Turkey, forms a great impediment 



* Russell's Aleppo, i. 335. 

+ " The governors of the Roman provinces, were, if I may use the expression, the 
Pashas of the republic." Montesquieu, B. 2. These rapacious governors acquired vast 
wealth. " Even Cicero," says Melmoth, " who professed to conduct himself with exem- 
plary disinterestedness in his province, was able in the course of a single year to acquire as 
much as 17, 6001. of our money, and that too from a province by no means the most 
considerable of the republic's dominions." 



i 



OF THE TURKISH MONARCHY. 



5 



to any advancement of prosperity or general civilization.* In and 
about the great cities of the empire, where the Pasha, Mohassil, 
and other officers of high situation reside, and to which manufacturers 
or merchants are attracted, some degree of industry and cultivation 
may be observed. But as we proceed through the more distant parts 
of many of the provinces, we find little appearance of wealth or 
comfort. This inequality of property is a consequence of the in- 
security of the possessions of those, who are in inferior situations in 
life. If we except some families of feudal rank, the most opulent 
people in every province are the officers of government, those who 
hold situations under the Porte, or Pasha of the district. All of 
a class below them, are checked and impeded in their exertions to 
raise themselves. If their occupations are agricultural, they do not 
possess that interest in the land which would encourage them to in- 
dustrious exertion, in encreasing the quantity or improving the quality 
of the productions of it. Their territorial assessment is nominally 
fixed ; but they are exposed to heavy and fluctuating exactions. If 
their means of subsistence are derived from commercial sources -f, an 
incautious display of wealth would subject them to extortion and 
plunder. Under such a system of mischievous policy, it is not 
surprising that various modes of concealing property are practised. 
In the large towns it is not necessarily so much exposed to the eye 
of the government, as that wealth, which is derived immediately 
from the produce of the land. 

Such is the favourable situation of some of the provinces of 



* " Above all things, good policy is to be used, that the treasure and monies of a 
state be not gathered into few hands. For otherwise, a state may have a great stock 
and yet starve; and money is, like muck, not good, except it be spread." Bacon. 
Essay, 39. 

f " The Christians of Aleppo," says Russell, (in a remark, which admits of general 
application to the Christian subjects of the Turks,) " find it prudent to avoid the osten- 
tation of wealth, from fear of attracting the attention of their rapacious governors. They 
are under the necessity of contributing largely to the support of the poor of their respective 
nations, as likewise to the payment of Avanias, or unjust exactions demanded from 
them." ii. 46. 



6 



CAUSES OF THE WEAKNESS AND DECLINE 



Turkey, with respect to the great markets of Germany and Italy, 
that the merchants of this empire are enabled even in times of war, 
when the communication by sea is interrupted, to maintain an active 
commercial intercourse by land. The territorial wealth of this 
country is so great, the climate so various, that few parts of the 
world would enter into competition with European and Asiatic 
Turkey, if a better direction and a greater encouragement were 
given to the industry of the inhabitants. The activity of the Greek 
and Armenian merchants would extend the internal trade, and open 
new sources of prosperity. But the spirit of enterprise and com- 
mercial speculation, is checked by the insecurity of property, and by 
the defects and abuses of the administration of the affairs of the pro- 
vinces. It is only in those where the Pasha exerts himself to main- 
tain order and tranquillity, and where he feels himself secure for a 
time from the intrigues of the Porte, that the interests of trade or 
agriculture are regarded. The want of punctuality in the fulfil- 
ment of pecuniary engagements, and the difficulty of recovering 
debts occasion the rate of interest for money to be very high. In 
Constantinople, and Smyrna, it amounts to twelve per cent. ; in 
many parts of the empire to twenty per cent, per annum. As a great 
portion of the commerce of the country consists in the exportation 
of unwrought articles, there is little encouragement given to those 
various occupations which in Europe excite the industry and in- 
genuity of the artist and mechanic. Of the sums collected by the 
Pashas and other powerful individuals, some part is hoarded or con- 
cealed, and thus withdrawn from general circulation ; some is 
annually sent out of the provinces to the great officers of the Porte. 

5. The transportation of goods through different districts of the 
empire is slow, and often obstructed by the intestine troubles of the 
provinces ; frequent interruptions arise in parts of Syria, and the 
northern and eastern extremities of Asia Minor. The independent 
Sheiks of the tribes who frequent one of the routes from Basra to 
Aleppo, all maintain equal pretensions to demand from the mer- 
chant, as the price of his safety, some portion of his goods. The 



OF THE TURKISH MONARCHY. 



7 



caravans are obliged frequently to accept the escort which some 
neighbouring Sheik or Pasha offers to them, and the expences of the 
merchants are multiplied by the delays and obstructions which their 
protectors purposely occasion. (Niebuhr, i. 339.) According to the 
measure of their strength and force, the Arabs and other tribes 
resist or obey the authority of the Turks. By extraordinary energy 
and vigour, a Pasha may sometimes be enabled to repress the en- 
croachments of the Arabs, and confine them within certain limits ; 
he prevents them, until they have paid the tribute which is due, 
from entering the great cities for the purposes of traffic or ex- 
changing different commodities ; but the expences of raising levies 
and troops, active and numerous enough to watch their conduct, 
and threaten them with punishment are so great, that the governors, 
who consider their residence in the provinces as uncertain, are 
seldom disposed to maintain an army which can inspire the Arabs 
with fear and respect. The inhabitants of the villages, in the mean- 
time, are left to a vicissitude of insult and oppression ; they are kept 
in constant alarm by the incursion of these wandering tribes, and 
when the Pasha takes the field, they suffer not less injury from the 
vexatious insolence and disorder of the Turkish soldiers. 

The internal trade of the Asiatic part of the empire has been di- 
minished by another cause ; the caravans of pilgrims or merchants, 
who assemble annually at the temple of Mecca, and on their return 
through the provinces of Asia and Syria, dispose of their various 
commodities and productions^ are now less numerous than in former 
times. This is to be attributed partly to a declining zeal for Maho- 
metanism, and partly to the fear of being plundered in those routes, 
which have lately been frequented by the Wahabee. 

The decrease of the commerce* of this part of the empire is 



* " It is a proof of the great European commerce carried on at Aleppo about the 
beginning of the 17th century, that the hire only of camels to fetch and carry goods to 
and from Scanderoon, the port of Aleppo, amounted at least to 8000 sequins a year." 
See P. Texeira, quoted by Russell, ii. 3. 



8 



CAUSES OF THE WEAKNESS AND DECLINE 



proved by the decline of the mercantile establishments once main- 
tained in some of the large cities. " It is worthy of remark," says a 
late traveller, who directed his attention particularly to subjects of a 
commercial nature, " that at a period not far distant, the Turks had 
many articles of exportation, of which they have now scarcely a 
sufficiency to supply their own wants. Silk, for instance, was once 
exported in considerable quantities; at present, hardly enough is to 
be found for the manufactures of the country, and that is at six 
times more than its former price. Every article of exportation has 
fallen off; the few which remain, are raised to such prices as to 
render exporting them a certain loss. This proceeds in a great 
measure from the extortion of the Agas, or governors of the provinces, 
and from the export goods being farmed by the rich, destroyers of 
the state, who of course pay a small price, and prohibit the sale to 
any one else. Silk is at present farmed by the Reis Effendi, or 
minister for foreign affairs." 

6. In countries, where the springs of industry and exertion are 
unbroken, the evils occasioned by plague, war, and famine are soon 
removed ; but in Turkey the calamities they inflict are slowly re- 
paired. The neglect of agriculture is one among other causes, which 
check the population of the country ; nor is it difficult to assign the 
reason of the small esteem in which it is held in many parts. It is 
not only without any direct encouragement, but it has not that in- 
direct assistance which an extended commerce always affords. The 
various tribes that wander over the deserted plains of Asia Minor 
and Syria, sometimes broken into small parties, at other times united 
in formidable numbers, remove according to the season of the year 
to districts where more extended pastures, or other advantages tempt 
them to a temporary settlement. The habits of life of all these hordes 
are unfavourable to a proper cultivation of the land. In addition to 
the Kurds and Bedoween Arabs, we may mention the Turkmans, 
the peculiar descendants of the Nomad Scythians, who are frequent- 
ly met by travellers in Syria ; we have observed their flocks, 
herds, and reeded tents on the western coast of Asia Minor. The 



♦ 



OF THE TURKISH MONARCHY. 



9 



Rushwans are a tribe of wandering Kurds who inhabit the ancient 
Cappadocia, and in parts of the year establish themselves in the 
vicinity of Damascus and Aleppo. The Begdelees, a tribe of Turk- 
mans, are described by Pococke as consisting of bodies of one thou- 
sand persons, and raising contributions on different villages. These 
wandering tribes increase in numbers, in consequence of the un- 
quiet state of the country, and want of protection; peasants, 
Christians as well as Mahometans, being driven from the cultivation 
of their lands. 

In policy, as in architecture, the ruin is greatest when it begins 
with the foundation. Under that very imperfect establishment of 
order and law, which prevails in some part of the European, as well 
as Asiatic provinces of the empire, the peasants are so depressed 
and interrupted in the exercise of their occupations, that the 
country is almost desolate. Five hundred villages are not found 
in the district of Mesopotamia belonging to Mardin, which once 
possessed sixteen hundred.* Cyprus before the conquest of the 
Turks contained 14,000 villages ; in two insurrections great numbers 
of the inhabitants were slain ; a dreadful mortality was occasioned 
by the plague in 1624, and in less than fifty years from that time, 
seven hundred villages only could be found, f Three hundred were 
once comprehended in a part of the Pashalik of Aleppo, now con- 
taining less than one-third of that number. X Many towns are men- 
tioned in the history of the Caliphs, which no longer exist ; the 
site of others may be traced on the route from Bagdad to Mosul. 
In consequence of the decrease of agriculture and manufacturing in- 
dustry, the sums formerly paid to the government by some of its 
officers of revenue are diminished ; 50,0001. was the amount § of 



* Niebuhr, ii. 320. 

f Rycaut. State of the Greek church, p. 91. 
% Russell, i. 339. 

§ Payments of money in the Turkish empire are made in purses; each purse containing 
500 piastres. We find the payments made to the exchequer in the Greek empire were 
called ' folles.' Clarke on Coins, 351. 

C 



10 



CAUSES OF THE WEAKNESS AND DECLINE 



the agreement made by the Mohassil of Aleppo in D'Arvieux time 
with the Grand Seignior's treasury ; the contract in 1769 was fixed 
at a much lower rate. The reservoirs and canals by which the 
fertility of Palestine, Syria, and Egypt, and Babylonia, under the 
time of the Saracens, and Mamaluke Soldans, was augmented 
and improved, have been neglected. The land throughout the em- 
pire is charged with a rent paid either to the Sultan himself, 
to the governors of provinces, or to those who farm the territorial 
impost, and other taxes : the amount of that levied on the Mussul- 
man is a seventh or tenth of the produce ; the Greeks on the con- 
tinent and Islanders pay a fifth. But this tribute is not collected 
by any fixed regulations ; and the inequality of exactions, and the 
want of just and proportioned impositions are the great political im- 
pediments to all improvements in Turkey. Great avanias are levied 
occasionally on the villages of Asia Minor and Syria, and as the 
land owners or renters defray that part of the assessment laid on 
the peasants and labourers, who cannot themselves pay it, from the 
small portion of the fruits of the earth which they receive, a heavy 
debt is always due from the latter to the former. In some parts, the 
Agas from improvident and extravagant habits of life have been 
unable to pay the Miri *, or territorial tax, and have been obliged 
to quit the lands which they had hired. A long interval of time 
elapses before they are again occupied, and the peasants are forced 
to seek in the larger towns the means of support. The great cities 
are filled in this manner, because they afford a certain supply of pro- 
visions, as the governors are unwilling to expose themselves to those 
tumults which would arise in cases of famine, or dearness of corn. 
In the meantime large tracts of country are deserted. A melan- 
choly illustration of the depopulated state of them is afforded by 
the view of those extensive cemeteries so frequently passed by the 
traveller in his route. Scarcely any vestiges of the villages which 



* Russell, i. 339. and 342. 



OF THE TURKISH MONARCHY. 



11 



once flourished near them are now seen. The incursions of robbers, 
the calamities of war and pestilence, have compelled the inhabitants 
to remove to other districts.* The countries between the Tigris 
and Euphrates, once distinguished for their populousness, are con- 
signed to ruin and neglect ; and the inhabitants retire to villages on 
the banks of the rivers, where they are less harassed by the preda- 
tory attacks of the Arabs. 

From the present rude and uncultivated condition of some of the 
provinces, we might be led to suppose that they were either barren, 
or incapable of affording any great produce. But nothing is wanted, 
except a greater number of inhabitants to draw forth by their skill and 
industry the productions of the soil. " If Natolia," says Hasselquist, 
" was well peopled, active husbandmen would certainly make the 
hills turn to some account; here might be planted good vineyards 
of the fine vines that grow around Smyrna; here numbers of sheep 
might feed on places that agree well with them, where the sheep's 
fescue grass (festuca ovina ) grows sufficiently. Goats might feed 
here to a much greater number than are now found, there being 
plenty of food for them ; and if all other places, which here lie un- 
cultivated, were turned into corn land, a careful husbandman might 
raise the finest crops on these hills." p. 35. From the testimonies of 
sacred Scripture and the writings of antiquity, we learn that great 
multitudes were provided with subsistence in places which now sup- 
port a very small population. Two millions and a half of persons 
followed the Jewish legislator into Palestine, f The enumeration 



* " As long as insulation exposes men to personal danger, we can hope for the esta- 
blishment of no equilibrium between the population of towns and that of the country." 
Humboldt, ii. 313. 

f Michaelis on the Laws of Moses, vol. i. p. 99. Smith's translation. " The men 
" able to bear arms somewhat exceeded 600,000, and including the Levites amounted to 
" nearly 620,000. If, according to the usual principle of calculation, we admit the whole 
" people, women and children included, to have been four times as many, we shall then 
" have nearly 2,500,000 souls for the amount of the population." Michaelis proceeds to 
shew, that within the limits of Palestine hereditary possessions and support were found 
for these very great numbers. 

c 2 



12 CAUSES OF THE WEAKNESS AND DECLINE 

of the people of Israel in the time of David, if we take the 
lowest calculation, amounts, including women and children, to five 
millions ; but that census embraces an extensive district. The 
remarks of Josephus and Tacitus respecting the fertility of parts of 
this country are confirmed by the observations of a native who 
examined it in the 13th century*, and by the accounts of more 
recent travellers. The wealth and populousness of Syria, as well as 
of Asia seem to have been considerable under the Christian emperors 
of Constantinople, if we may judge from the number of archbishoprics, 
bishoprics, convents, and churches which they contained. The reli- 
gious faith of the actual possessors of Palestine has caused an alteration 
in one branch of rural industry ; the prohibition of wine, which has 
now prevailed for ten centuries, has been sufficient to make a great 
difference between the former and present state of a country admira- 
bly adapted by nature to the growth of the grape. If we turn to 
Greece, we find only 20,000 persons in Attica f , and the population 
of the Peloponnesus does not exceed 350,000. The inhabitants of 
Egypt are calculated to amount to two millions and a half, a small 
number when we consider the resources of that country. £ The for- 
mer civilization of many of the provinces of the empire is also proved 
by the temples, theatres, and public works which strike the attention 
of the traveller. A small part only of those numerous edifices can 
now be discovered in their remains. Whole towns in Asia and 



* Abulfeda. " The country about Jerusalem," he says, " is one of the most fruitful 
" in Palestine." Strabo (16'.) informs us, "that it was unfruitful." Yet these two writers 
are easily reconciled. The latter alludes to the soil not being productive of grain; the 
former to its great produce in wine and oil. " An acre planted with vines or olives, how- 
ever arid or rocky the soil may be, will very easily be made worth ten times as much as 
an acre of the richest corn land." Michaelis, iii. 138. 

f D'apres les evaluations les plus justes. Beaujour, 1. 

X This is Mr. Browne's statement. Volney assigns 2,300,000, and some of the 
members of the French Institute give the same number : but there is a difference in the 
quantity qf cultivated land; the latter mention 1800 square leagues; in Volney we find 
2 1 00. 



OF THE TURKISH MONARCHY. 



13 



Greece have been frequently destroyed by earthquakes.* Athens 
and other cities on the coasts of Natolia and Greece supplied Con- 
stantine, and succeeding Emperors, with materials to enrich and adorn 
the capital. • 
7.' " It is a consequence of the depopulated and neglected state of 
" Greece, Asia, and Syria, that there is no considerable district 
" which is not exposed in some degree to the effects of a bad and 
" corrupted atmosphere. The putrid miasma, arising in the summer 
" and autumn from bogs and marshes and irrigated grounds, is 
" attended in the north of Europe with simple agues or intermittent 
" fevers ; but the Mal-aria is the scourge of the south of Europe ; 
" there the intermittents are of the worst description, and so violent 
" and obstinate, mixed perhaps with typhus fevers, as to be fre- 
" quently mortal. The spots in Greece where the mal-aria is most 
" noxious are salt-works and rice grounds ; and we meet with a 
" striking example of the influence of the former at Milo, where 
" since the beginning of the last century, when the island was 
" visited by Tournefort, four-fifths of the population have been lost 
" in consequence of the establishment of a small salt-work. Patrse, 
" a place celebrated in the time of Cicero for the salubrity of the air, 
" has become unhealthy, because the plain around it is subject to 
" irrigation. In Attica, a country once distinguished for the purity 
" of its air f and climate, the effects of the disorder are felt at Ma- 
" rathon ; and the streams of the Cephissus, which are wholly con- 
" sumed in irrigation, diffuse it through the plain of Athens." 
(Mr. Hawkins.) In the most flourishing periods of ancient Greece, 
we find the people of particular districts suffering from fevers J, and 



* Quoties Asiae, quoties Achaiag urbes uno tremore ceciderunt ! Quot oppida in Mace- 
donia devorata sunt ! Sen. Epis. xci. 

f See the passages of Euripides and Aristides quoted by Casaub. in Athen. p. 405. 

% " The people of Onchestus in Bceotia," says Dicaearchus, " though placed on a 
" high spot were subject to fevers;" the miasma arising from the marshy plains on the 
borders of the Copais may have affected, Mr. Hawkins supposes, the health of the inha- 
bitants. The site of Sparta was insalubrious, partly from the swamps in the vicinity 



■ 



14 



CAUSES OF THE WEAKNESS AND DECLINE 



disorders peculiar to marshy situations ; but these were less prevalent, 
when industry awakened life and fertility throughout the country, 
than at present, when the inhabitants, living in tenements placed in 
unhealthy situations, nourished by scanty food, uncertain whether 
they can appropriate the fruits of their industry, have no motive to 
improvement. The climate of Egypt is affected at particular sea- 
sons by the neglect of the canals ; the plain of Scanderoon was in 
the time of Moryson " infamous for the death of Christians," and still 
continues to be the most unhealthy spot on the coast of Syria ; the 
inhabitants of Tripoli and Acre are subject to disorders arising from 
mephitic exhalations. In some parts of Greece the rivers, obstructed 
in their channels, overflow the banks, and spread into morasses. In 
the memory of the inhabitants of the present day new marshes have 
been observed in the vallies of Arcadia.* Leprous affections are 
becoming more frequent. In Asia and Syria, as well as Greece, the 
inhabitants are obliged to retire at particular seasons, into the moun- 
tains to avoid the diseases of the plains, and exchange the fceculent 
atmosphere occasioned by stagnant moisture and putrefaction, for 
the dry and elastic air of more elevated regions. 

8. The practice of polygamy f, so prevalent among the higher 
orders in this country, so contrary to the strict injunction of their law, 



of it, partly from the great heat reflected by the mountains of Taygetus. Ava-rpctTreXiav 
tqu tottqv tcov Toivyerov opwv uj-wXo'yov nvlyo; Tcupe^ovrcov. Jamblich. Vit. Pyth. 37- See also 
Plutarch Opp. Mor. " on Banishment." 

* " A face furrowed with care, a body lean with hard labour and scanty diet, represent 
" the portrait of a modern Arcadian. The residence of a number of hungry Turks, the 
" vermin of the Pasha's court, continually oppresses this hapless people ; and they seem 
" to exist only to furnish food to their lazy masters. Among the most powerful engines, 
" are the Codja Bashees, the treasurers of the district, or rather the collectors of the 
" taxes, and the bishops, whose places are all bought." From Dr. Sibthorp's MSS. 

\ Four is the extreme number of wives allowed by Mahomet. " Take in marriage 
" of such women, as please you, two, or three, or four." Koran, c. iv. — For the 
reasons which induced Moses to tolerate polygamy, as a civil right, though he did not 
approve it, see Michaelis, i. 277- The Jews, in the time of Solomon, did not imitate 
the example of their Monarch ; polygamy was no longer practised. 



OF THE TURKISH MONARCHY. 



15 



has contributed to diminish the population of it. In the families 
of that class of Turks, who abuse the permission of their legislator, 
the children are found fewer than in those of Greeks, Armenians, 
and Jews. " None of the women in the great Harems, (says Russell,) 
speaking generally, bear so great a number of children as the 
married women in the inferior ranks of life," i. 279. The remark of 
Bruce, who says that in the south and Scripture parts of Mesopo- 
tamia, Armenia, and Syria he found the proportion to be two 
women born to one man, has not been confirmed by succeed- 
ing travellers. It will probably be found by those who in their 
future visits to these countries direct their attention to the question 
of the numerical proportion of the two sexes, that in the cases 
where the women appear to be in greater numbers than the men, 
they have been brought away from the neighbouring villages to the 
houses of the great and rich in towns and cities.* 

The general indifference shewn by the Turks to subjects of poli- 
tical arithmetic, renders it very difficult to obtain satisfactory ac- 
counts of the population of the great cities of the empire. There 
are only three modes by which any approximation to an accurate 
estimate can be obtained. The first is by ascertaining the weekly 
or yearly consumption of corn in a city j? ; the second is by taking 
a plan of different towns J, and comparing them with the size and 
dimensions of other places in Europe ; the third is by consulting the 
registers of those who pay the capitation tax ; but the number of 
Greeks, Jews, and Armenians only, could be obtained in this 
manner. Additional information would also be derived from know- 
ing the amount of the duty levied on houses in some of the cities of 
the empire, and from the details which the priests of different 



* This is the remark of Porter, the British Ambassador at Constantinople. Philos. 
Trans. 49. 

f The calculation made by the Maronite priest of the numbers in Aleppo is partly 
founded on this method. Russel, i. 362. D'Arvieux gives the daily consumption of 
grain and other articles of provision, i. 6. 

+ This is the mode suggested by Niebuhr. 



16 



CAUSES OF THE WEAKNESS AND DECLINE 



classes of Christians could give. The aggregate of the whole 
population of the empire in Europe, Asia, and Africa has been 
estimated at 25,330,000. * But whatever may be the realnumber, 
it is far below that which could be maintained in these countries, 
and this is to be attributed to the slow and certain operation of 
those measures of pernicious policy which have been long esta- 
blished f, and to the abuses of the provincial governments. These 
would have produced a greater diminution of numbers, and a more i 
general and uniform decline of the power and resources of the em- 
pire, if they had not been modified by various circumstances. These 
we may >now proceed to notice. 

1. The exuberant fertility of the soil, and plentiful harvests of 
rice, corn, and maize, maintain in several districts, even under great 
imperfections of policy and order, a large population, In some pro- 
vinces also, the territorial impost, capitation tax, and duties or 
customs upon commodities are farmed by the governor ; but whether 
they are placed in his hands, or in those of any other person, an 
oppressive mode of levying them would be injurious to those en- 
gaged in the contracts. For the Porte is severe in demanding the 
fulfilment of them £ ; and if by harsh exactions, the villages are 
abandoned, the cultivation of the land is neglected ; if any heavy 
imposition is laid on the merchants, the commerce of the district 
is lessened, and the caravans pursue a different route. In some pro- 
vinces, the farmer general of these three branches of revenue, who 
is termed Mohassil, is a person of high situation ; in the Pashalik 



* See Humboldt, Pol. Essay on N. Spain. This is little more than half of the popu- 
lation of the Russian empire, which was estimated in 1805 at 40,000,000. The in- 
crease of numbers has been very great; for in 1783, the census gave 25,G77,000: and in 
1763, 14,726,000. 

-f The little security there is (says a very intelligent traveller,) arises from the superior 
ferocity of a few Pashas, which allows of no robbery save their own. The depopulation 
is gradual, constant, infallible, and indubitably arises from the extreme badness of the 
government. Browne, 418. 

% Russell mentions more than one instance of persons ruined since the year 1760, by 
taking the farm of the customs, capitation, and land tax. 



OF THE TURKISH MONARCHY. 



17 



of Aleppo, he is next- in the civil department to the Pasha, and 
under his protection those engaged in trade are more immediately 
placed. The Agas, also, who are renters of land, are able sometimes 
to defend their vassals from injuries which must, in their conse- 
quences, be prejudicial to themselves. 

2. Some cities in the empire derive from their situation great 
facilities and advantages for carrying on an active trade. The 
position of Bagdad and Basra relatively to Persia and India, makes 
them the centre of considerable commerce. " Cairo is the metropolis 
" of the trade of eastern Africa." * Large caravans are constantly 
employed in importing various commodities from the East, to supply 
the wants and tastes of individuals of a high rank in Turkey ; and 
a considerable portion of the money brought f into the Ottoman 
dominions from Europe in exchange for the cotton, drugs, wool and 
silk, and other articles, is employed by them in the purchase of the 
muslins, and costly and ornamental productions of India and Persia. 
In each of the three divisions of Asia Minor, Karaman, Roum, and 
Anadoli {, and in Syria, there are many populous cities ; the various 
commodities which are imported from Europe are conveyed from 
these places to other towns of inferior note. Exclusive of the com- 
mercial relations maintained with Europe §, the different parts of 



* Browne. 

t Of the sum of 4,000,000 piastres, or 840,0001. which, it has been supposed, passes 
annually from Europe into Asia by the Levant trade, a great part is paid to the Turks. 
The exportation of silver from the Austrian monarchy alone, into Turkey and the 
Levant, is estimated at nearly 300,0001. Humboldt, iii. 442. Polit. Essay. 

t D'Anville, 1' Empire Turc. p. 15. 

§ The general articles imported from Turkey into Great Britain, are, cotton-wool, 
carpets, madder, yellow-berries, goat's-wool, sheep's-wool, mohair-yarn, sponges, silk, 
cotton-yarn, safflower, gum arabic, assafcetida, opium, tragacanth, galls, whetstones, 
raisins, figs, valanea, emery-stones, box-wood, liquorice-root, goat-skins, sheep-skins 
undrest, unwrought copper. 

Those exported to Turkey are, muslins, calicoes, cloths, stuffs, and earthen-ware, 
clocks and watches, indigo, guns and pistols, hard-ware and cutlery, iron plates, sugar, 
tin in barrels, lead shot, red and white lead, wrought and cast iron, Brazil wood, tin- 
plates, lead in pigs, pepper, pimento, tar, rice, coffee 

Oddy's Europ. Commerce, 187. 

D 



18 



CAUSES OF THE WEAKNESS AND DECLINE 



the Turkish empire are constantly engaged in interchanging various 
articles. The rice and flax of Egypt are exported to Syria, whence 
cotton and silk* are remitted in return. Both these provinces 
receive annually from 10 to 15,000 quintals of iron from Smyrna, 
Coffee and Indian goods are sent to Constantinople, and from this 
city brass and copper manufactures are carried to Egypt. The in- 
fluence of a great commercial town in humanizing and improving the 
manners of a people is no where so evident in Turkey as on the 
western coast of Asia. A sense of the advantages derived from 
a safe and regular communication with Smyrna stimulates the 
governors of the different towns to a discharge of their duty. The 
roads are rarely infested by robbers, and travellers have litte reason 
to complain of the manners and general conduct of the inhabitants. 

3. The trade of Salonica, the second city of mercantile im- 
portance in the empire, excites a spirit of industry in the provinces 
of the antient Thessaly and Macedonia. The Turks at Constanti- 
nople, like the Romans under their Emperors, are so accustomed 
to a low and fixed price of corn f, that nothing excites murmurs 
and complaints in the city sooner than any rise or alteration of it. 
It is the business of some commissaries sent every year into parts 
of Greece, as well as to other provinces of the empire, to purchase 
wheat for supplying the granaries of Constantinople. After this, 
the orders of the government prohibiting the exportation of corn are 
without difficulty evaded; and large cargoes are sent out from 
different ports of Greece. This exportation t encourages the Beys 



* " This article is brought from Antioch ; more silk is produced in the neighbourhood 
of that city, within the circuit of 30 miles than in the rest of Syria. It is sent to 
Aleppo, and thence exported." Parsons' Travels, 77- 

f The neglect of agriculture in the vicinity of Constantinople towards the north, 
arises from the same cause that formerly discouraged tillage near Rome : it is owing to the 
quantity of corn sent from the provinces. The inhabitants of Rome were supplied with 
corn at sixpence a peck. Adam Smith, W. of N. i. 233. 

X The evils which arose in consequence of a strict prohibition of the exportation of 
corn from parts of the Turkish empire are stated by the author of the " Essay on the 
« corn trade," 1766. « The Grand Vizir between 20 and 30 years ago suffered a 



OF THE TURKISH MONARCHY. 



19 



of Larissa and Salonica to bestow great attention on the cultivation 
of their lands ; and in no province of the empire are the numbers of 
inhabitants so great as in these districts of Greece. The best 
peopled part of Macedonia gives 500 inhabitants to the square league. 
(Beaujour, vol. i.) 

4. Turks, Jews, Greeks, and Armenians are associated in many 
cities or corporations for the purpose of watching over their separate 
interests ; and in this manner they are frequently able to check the 
Pasha in the dishonest exercise of his power. By their united 
exertions they have been able to obtain from the government his re- 
moval. The hand of violence is always suspended over the rich in 
this country, as nothing is to be gained from the inferior classes of 
subjects ; pretences therefore for seizing the wealth of the great are 
readily admitted ; and the governor is removed or obliged to part 
with some of his ill-gotten treasures. 

5. Throughout the empire, those who dwell in mountainous dis- 
tricts enjoy a security and independence which are denied to the in- 
habitants of the plains. This is not only true with respect to the 
various tribes professing the Mahometan faith, and the numerous 
hordes of Yesidians, who remain yet unsubdued by the Turks, but 



quantity of corn to be exported; 300 French vessels from 20 to 200 tons were on 
one day seen to enter Smyrna bay, to load corn : and wheat was then sold for less 
than seventeen-pence English a bushel, with all the expenses of putting the same 
on board included. The Janissaries and people took the alarm, pretended that all the 
corn was going to be exported, and that they would be starved, and in Constantinople 
grew so mutinous, that at last the Vizir was strangled. His successor carefully avoided 
following his example ; and suffered no exportation. Many of the farmers who looked 
on the exportation as their greatest demand, neglected tillage to save their rents, which 
in that country are paid either in kind or in proportion to their crops, to such a degree, 
that in less than three years, the same quantity of corn which in the time of exportation 
sold for not quite seventeen-pence, was worth more than six shillings ; and the distress was 
great ; and guards were placed over the bakehouses and magazines of corn. An English 
ship in the Turkey trade was detained from sailing some time for want of bread. The 
ill consequences of these proceedings were not removed for many years ; and the fall of 
the first Vizir was regretted too late." 

D 2 



20 



CAUSES OF THE WEAKNESS AND DECLINE 



many Christian communities, the Nestorians and Jacobites in Me- 
sopotamia, the Maronites of Libanus, the Sphachiots of Crete, the 
Mainotes of Peloponnesus protected by the fastnesses and narrow 
defiles of their retreats, escape the depredations and destruction which 
are often inflicted on the more exposed parts of the country. 

6. There are many districts in Asiatic and European Turkey 
which are appanages of the great officers of the Porte, or part of the 
Imperial family. These as well as the Timars or fiefs held under the 
Sultans are not taxed so severely as other parts of the provinces. 
On the conquest of the country by the Turks, lands were appro- 
priated to the maintenance of the church, and the ecclesiastical pro- 
perty of the nation since that time has been much increased. Many 
parts of the crown demesnes have been bestowed in this manner by 
different Sultans, and have become Wakouf. They were formerly 
rented by governors and nobles who were annual tenants, but in 
consequence of the great abuses which they committed, during their 
possession, an alteration took place in the mode of letting them, and 
they have been granted since the year 1759 on leases for lives. 
(D'Ohsson.) * 

7. In the islands of the Archipelago, which are only visited by 
the Turks when the capitation money is collected, industry is not so 
much interrupted as in those where Turkish governors reside, and 
by arbitrary and injudicious regulations interfere with the employ- 
ment of the inhabitants. Cyprus and Candia are ruled by Pashas ; 
and the former is, perhaps, the most depopulated part of the empire. 
But in many of the islands, and indeed wherever the rigour of the 
Turkish government is relaxed, we find the Christian inhabitants 
active and laborious. The merchants of Thessaly, Macedonia, and 
Epirus, the islanders of Scio, the sailors of Hydra and Spezzia, the 
Armenians of Constantinople and Smyrna may be particularly dis- 



* If, however, the church lands in Asia Minor are let in the exorbitant manner which 
regulates the leases in Egypt, the tenant of the mosque is not in a much belter situation 
than the tenant of the government. Browne, 61. 



OF THE TURKISH MONARCHY. 



21 



tinguished. The religious establishments of the Christian subjects 
have had a very favourable influence on the agriculture of parts of 
the country. The cultivated state of the monastic lands of Athos, 
and other mountainous districts in Greece shews that the Greek 
priests when unmolested by the presence or interference of the Turks 
do not suffer themselves to be exceeded in industry by any class of 
their countrymen.* 

8. Lastly, when a Pasha has been able to establish himself in a 
province for many years, to consolidate his power, and appropriate 
part of the neighbouring country to his family, the condition of the 
people is improved. He finds his own interests connected with those 
of his subjects ; and the latter are freed from the vexatious and 
capricious exercise of tyranny, to which those are exposed who live 
under the dominion of governors desirous of amassing great wealth 
before they are removed to other parts of the empire, and therefore 
little scrupulous of sacrificing the welfare of their provinces to their 
immediate wants. The mountains of Albania f, and some districts 
of Greece afford a retreat to many bands of robbers, who still keep 
the country in a state of disquiet and alarm : but the effects of the 
regulations made by Ali Pasha, during his long sovereignty, for the 
protection and tranquillity of it, are visible in the improved industry 
and wealth of many of the Greeks. On the coast of Lesser Asia, 
in the antient Mysia, the long established government of Kara 
Osman Oglu is distinguished for its mildness and moderation, and 
for the security of property enjoyed by those who live under it. 



* Travellers have remarked the fruitful and well-peopled condition of the lands in the 
neighbourhood of the convents of the Nestorians and Jacobites in Mesopotamia, 260. 
Kinneir. " The 200 convents," says Volney, " among the Maronites, so far from hurt- 
" ing population have contributed to promote it by increasing the produce of the soil." 

f See Mr. Hobhouse's account of Albania, and Dr. Holland's Travels, and Colonel 
Leake's Researches. The Albanians speak a language derived from the antient Thracian, 
which appears to have been the same as the Illyrian. " Utinam nobis Albanicae linguae 
" ex vetere Thracica descendentis grammaticam quispiam impertiret; videtur et Illyrica 
" vetus eadem ac Thracica fuisse." De Origine Linguae, Caroli Michaeler, 478. 



22 



CAUSES OF THE WEAKNESS AND DECLINE 



Such are the circumstances which affect in a great degree the pros- 
perity and condition of the inhabitants of this empire ; and we learn 
from them in what manner the abuses of power are modified or 
corrected. The real cause of the unequal progress of industry is to 
be ascribed to the fluctuating system of policy which prevents any 
regular, consistent, and steady attention to measures favourable to 
general improvement. There can be no ground for expecting any 
change, while the administration of the provinces is conducted on 
the same principles.* The extent of this ill-modelled and ill- 
balanced empire prevents any accurate inspection of the conduct of 
those who are placed over remote parts of it. A large portion of 
the revenue of the Porte, and the great officers of it is derived from 
money paid by Pashas on taking possession of their government, or 
from occasional remittances make for the purpose of securing a con- 
tinuance in their appointment. -j- This money is drawn from the 
labour, industry, and commerce of the inhabitants of the province. 
If these sums are not paid, as well as those expected from the farmers 
of the customs, land, and capitation tax, the latter are thrown into 
prison, and the governors lose their Pashaliks. If they are removed 
in a short time, the provinces are exposed to fresh exactions on the 
arrival of every succeeding Pasha. Some districts however, have 
extorted from the weakness of the Porte the permission of naming 
their own rulers. The Pashalik of Bagdad, since the time of 
Achmed, has been independent of the Sultan. £ When the jealousy 
of the government is roused by any suspicion of dubious allegiance 
in a Pasha, or by any attempt to aspire at greater influence, different 
methods are adopted to check and counteract his rising power. The 



* " The succession of a new governor may defeat all the plans of improvement suggested 
or carried into effect by a former one. Sheik Daher, the predecessor of Djezzar, had 
raised Acre from a village to a large town ; and increased the population of the district. 
In the time of Djezzar, the large plain near Acre was left almost a marsh." Browne, 368. 

f The Mohassil of Aleppo, in Volney's time, made his contract with the Porte for 
40,0001., and paid about 40001. to the officers of the government. 

% Kinneir, 307- 



OF THE TURKISH MONARCHY. 



23 



troops of some neighbouring province are compelled to march against 
him; the Pasha of Kurdistan was instigated by the Porte in 1810 
to take arms against the Pasha of Bagdad ; and the latter was 
defeated and put to death. Sometimes the government proceeds in 
a more summary manner ; the lives of these refractory Satraps are 
taken from them by officers sent expressly from Constantinople.* In 
no part of the empire has the authority of the Porte been more dis- 
puted than in Egypt; and while the Mamelukes remained unsubdued, 
the Pasha of Cairo was able to exercise a very limited power in the 
country. Since the year 1791 a small part only of the revenue due to 
the Sultan had been remitted. -j- A proposal had been once made at 
Constantinople to massacre some of the most distinguished leaders 
among the Mamelukes, and thus put an end to all fear of future 
disobedience. The plan was at that time rejected ; but in the year 
1811 the measure was carried into execution, attended with circum- 
stances of perfidy and cruelty not to be paralleled in the most bar- 
barous and ferocious part of the Turkish annals. Bad as the govern- 
ment of the Mamelukes might be, the inhabitants of Egypt will find 
that they have derived no benefit from the exchange of £ rulers. 
Whatever was taken by the former from this exhausted province was 
at least expended in it ; more injury will be done by a succession of 
rapacious governors sent by the Porte, than if the same swarm of 



* The officers of the Porte are not always able to execute their commission. The 
Grand Signior sent down more than one to take the life of Achmed, Pasha of Bagdad; 
but Achmed had his agents at Constantinople, who gave him timely intelligence. Nieb. 2. 
Mustapha, the father of Selim, wished to take away the life of a Pasha of Bagdad, and 
sent a Capigee or officer for that purpose. The Pasha cut off the Capigee's head, and 
sent it back to the Sultan. De Tott. 1. Some of the Capigees who were sent to take 
Djezzar's life, died suddenly of the cholic. Volney, 2. 

f See Hamilton's iEgyptiaca, p. 425. 

J See the remarks of Raige, Reynier, and Girard, on the nature of the different tenures 
by which property is held in Egypt, and on the impediments which exist to a further 
improvement of the agriculture of the country. Memoire de S. de Sacy. Mem. de 1'Instit. 
1815. t. i. Classe D'Histoire. 



24 CAUSES OF THE WEAKNESS AND DECLINE 

bloodsuckers had continued. 'Eav Je tovtovs Mvopaio-Ttxg utyeXvi eTepot 
eXSovTez irtivMTtg pov to Xomov a.7fia. Arist. Rhet. lib. 11. 

The causes of that great change in the situation of some of the 
states of Europe, during the three last centuries, are to be found in 
the commercial spirit by which they have been actuated, and the pro- 
pagation of knowledge by means of the press. The intercourse with 
the Christian states must be very much enlarged before the condition 
of the Asiatic part of the empire can be affected by the former, and 
any alteration introduced by means of the latter will proceed by slow 
degrees. The little proficiency made by the Turks in subjects of a 
mathematical, geographical, and political nature, arises from the want 
of encouragement on the part of the government. Law and theo- 
logy* alone occupy the attention of the students in the colleges or 
Medresses. Acquisitions of knowledge are not discouraged by the 
Koran. " The ink of the learned," said Mahomet, " and the blood 
" of martyrs are of equal value in the sight of Heaven." But the 
general improvement of the empire has been retarded by the custom 
of confining within the walls of the Seraglio the hereditary Princes of 
the Turkish throne, and thus secluding them from the world, and 
shutting out the means of acquiring knowledge. Literature seems 
to have met with more encouragement and protection from the Sul- 
tans of former ages. " Be the support of the Faith, and protector of 
" the Sciences t?" were among the last words of Osman the First, to 
his successor Orkhan. In the sermon entitled Koutbe, a divine bene- 
diction is implored on the orthodox Caliphs who were endowed with 
learning, virtue, and sanctity. There are thirty-five public libraries 



* " Theology and jurisprudence, comprehending scholastic divinity and the voluminous 
" commentaries on the Koran and the Sonna, constitute the principal object of Moham- 
" medan study." Russell's Aleppo, ii. 

f " It is a ridiculous notion which prevails among us," says Sir W. Jones, " that igno- 
" ranee is a principle of the Mohammedan religion, and that the Koran instructs the 
" Turks not to be instructed." Discourse on History of the Turks, p. 501. " Mahom- 
" med not only permitted but advised his people to apply themselves to learning." Id. 
See Lord Teignmouth's Life of Sir W. Jones, p. 501. 



OF THE TURKISH MONARCHY. 



25 



in Constantinople, none of them containing less than 1000 manu- 
scripts*; in many are found more than 5000. The collection in the 
two libraries of the Seraglio exceeds 15,000 volumes. At the time 
when the Greeks were driven by their conquerors from Constanti- 
nople, the latter might certainly be ranked among barbarous and 
uninformed nations ; but the Greeks of the nineteenth century are 
not warranted in applying the contemptuous expressions of their 
ancestors to the Turks of later times, who have cultivated some parts 
of literature, particularly those relating to their own history, with 
great success, and have probably more real merit than many of the 
Byzantine writers. The use of the press was first introduced in Con- 
stantinople in the reign of Achmet the Third (in 1727) ; but in the 
interval of time which has since elapsed, the copies of few works of 
distinction and name have been multiplied by it. This is owing, 
according to the opinion of Sir William Jones -j -, to the difficulty of 
understanding the classical writings of the Turks, without more than 
a moderate knowledge of Persian and Arabic. Manuscript volumes 
are also preferred to printed works. The French were accustomed 
to send to them books published in oriental types, but only a small 
number was purchased. Characters formed in writing are considered 
as more pleasing to the eye %, and as capable of being connected and 
combined, in a more beautiful manner, than in printing. There are, 
it may be added, many hundred scribes and copyists §, who would lose 
all means of support, if books could be circulated at a cheap rate by 
the press. In order that knowledge should be diffused through the 



* D'Ohsson. Tableau General. 

f Teignmouth's Life of Sir W. Jones, p. 504. 

X " II est constant," (says Galland, in his Discourse prefixed to the Bib. Orient, of 
D'Herbelot,) " que ces nations ne trouvent point d'agrement dans 1'impression. Les 
" Mahometans ne voulurent pas recevoir les exemplaires' qu'on leur porta. En efFet, ils 
u craignoient que dans la suite, on ne leur introduisit Palcoran imprime, ce qui auroit ete 
" regard e chez eux comme la plus grande profanation que pouvoit arriver a ce livre." 

§ Niebuhr, i. 188. " Une infinite des personnes qui subsistent parmi eux en copiant 
" des livres, auroient ete reduits a la mendicite par cette nouveaute." Galland. 

E 



26 



CAUSES OF THE WEAKNESS AND DECLINE 



empire, it is not only necessary that the Sultans themselves should be 
favorably disposed to it, but the Oulemah, the body of lawyers and 
ecclesiastics, should also lend their assistance. In the mean time, 
whatever may be the real obstacles, it is probable that the general 
ignorance, and want of curiosity in the people contribute, in some 
degree, to the support of the religious, as well as civil constitution of 
the country. " For let us suppose that learning* prevailed there, as 
" in these western nations, and that the Koran was as common to 
" them as the Bible to us, that they might have free recourse to 
" search and examine the flaws and follies of it ; and withal, that 
" they were of as inquisitive a temper as we, who knows, but as there 
" are vicissitudes in the government, so there may happen also the 
" same in the temper of a nation. If this should come to pass, 
" where would be their religion ? Let every one judge whether the 
" Arcana Imperii et Religionis would not fall together." South's 
Sermons, i. 144. 

The different symptoms of the decline of the empire could not have 
escaped the attention of the Sultans who have filled the Ottoman 
throne during the last century. Yet none of them, if we except Mus- 
tapha the Third, and the late Emperor Selim, made any endeavours 
to strengthen the foundation of their power, or were excited by the 
dangers of their situation to correct the vices and abuses of the 
government. Something would have been done towards repairing 
the breaches occasioned by the neglect and indolence of his predeces- 
sors, if Selim had lived to see his plans digested into order ; but the 
exertions of this monarch were vain and unavailing. In the revolu- 



* If little regard is paid to the literature of their own country by the orientals, it is not 
probable that the works of European writers will much excite their attention. Nor will 
this be a matter of regret, if such works only are circulated among them, as those which 
have been translated from the French into Arabic, by Basil and Elias Fakher, two persons 
employed in the French consulates in Egypt. " II est facheux que leur choix nesoit pas 
" toujours tombe sur des ouvrages dignes d'etre propages par la voie de traductions. Le 
" Contrat Social de Rousseau, ct quelques pamphlets de Voltaire contre la religion, sont-ils 
" done les premiers besoins des orientaux?" Mag. Encyclop. Janv. 1811. 



OF THE TURKISH MONARCHY. 



27 



tion which preceded his death, the Janissaries destroyed the mathe- 
matical school instituted by him. The prejudices and ignorance of 
these troops lead them to resist all plans of improvement ; the endea- 
vours of Bonneval and De Tott to introduce European discipline in 
the Turkish armies were opposed by them ; and they have viewed 
with jealousy alterations suggested even by their own countrymen. 
Experience has confirmed the truth of this observation made by Har- 
rington, " that the wound in the monarchy, incured and incurable, 
" is the power which the Janissaries* have of exciting sedition." 
It is a power the more dangerous, as it is without controul ; and while 
they continue to exist, the state contains in itself a source of weak- 
ness and decay. 

The only method by which the Sultan of this empire could re- 
establish his authority in the capital and the provinces, check the 
incursions of those numerous hordes and tribes which infest them, 
and inspire the rebellious governors with respect, would be by the 
formation of an army-f-, modelled on the European system, and kept 
in constant pay. " There should always," says Montesquieu, " be a 
" trusty body of troops around the despotic Prince, ready to fall in- 
" stantly upon any part of the empire that might chance to waver." 
But the number of the Janissaries in the capital, and of those who in 
the different cities of the empire are enrolled in that militia is so great, 
that, as they might reasonably dread a diminution of their influence, 
they would continue to oppose such an establishment. The governors 
who are aiming at independence, unwilling to see themselves stripped 



* Murad the Third, dared not go out of the Seraglio for two years, on account of the 
constant sedition of the soldiers. D'Ohsson. " II n'y a point de nation au monde, qui 
" parle plus avantageusement de ses monarques, et de l'obeissance qui leur est due, 
" que les Turcs ; et neanmoins, si nous consultons l'histoire, nous trouverons qu'il n'y a 
" point de monarques, dont l'autorite soit plus fragile, que celledes Empereurs Ottomans." 
Bayle. Diet. Art. Osman. Note B. 

f " Whoever examines with attention the improvements which Peter the Great intro- 
duced into the Russian empire, will find, that they almost all resolve themselves into the 
establishment of a well-regulated standing army." Adam Smith's W. of N. vol. in. p. 68 

E 2 



28 



CAUSES OF THE WEAKNESS AND DECLINE 



of the power which they have acquired by profiting of the weakness 
of the monarchy, would also resist it. New taxes must be imposed 
for the purpose of maintaining the new troops, and a spirit of discon- 
tent would be thus excited. Lastly, the Oulemah, whose property 
has been hitherto deemed inalienable and sacred, apprehensive that 
the Sultan might demand a portion of it, on occasions of great emer- 
gency, would add the weight of their authority, and interpose and 
obstruct the execution of such a scheme. 

The causes, then, to which the feebleness and decay of this 
empire may be attributed, are the existence of a military govern- 
ment in the capital, the want of salutary regulations in the admini- 
stration of its revenues*; the interruption of the peaceful habits 
of industry by the numerous tribes and hordes of robbers ; the 
difficulty of attending to all parts of this over-grown monarchy ; the 
national and religious prejudices which continue to operate on the 
great body of the people ; the weakness displayed by the Porte 
towards the different Pashas, who defy its power ; the indolence, 
ease, effeminacy, which, according to the Turks themselves have 
been exchanged by their countrymen for the hardier and more manly 
qualities of their ancestors-, and lastly, the indifference to science and 
art, and the little intercourse maintained by them with the civilized 
states of Europe. 

While the habits, manners, and situation of the Asiatic provinces 
continue the same, a great alteration has taken place in the condition 



* Mr. Rich, in his Memoir on the Ruins of Babylon, has given a curious document 
respecting the annual receipts of the governor of Hellah, p. 12. After stating the sums, 
he adds, " he must fee the most powerful members of the Porte from time to time, and 
yet be able to lay by a sufficiency not only for his own reimbursement, but also to pay the 
mulct that is invariably levied on governors when they are removed, however well they 
may have discharged their duty. And, when it is considered that his continuance in 
office seldom exceeds two or three years, it may well be imagined that he has recourse to 
secret methods of accumulating wealth, and that the inhabitants of his district are propor- 
tionally oppressed. The regulation of this petty government is a just epitome of the 
general system which has converted some of the finest countries of the world into savage 
wastes and uninhabitable deserts." 



OF THE TURKISH MONARCHY. 



29 



of part of the subjects of the European division of the empire. The 
improved state, and increased intelligence of the Greeks of the pre- 
sent day may be ascribed to their commerce and communication with 
the various countries of Europe. The extension of trade has been 
the instrument of much benefit to the nation ; it furnishes employ- 
ment to many thousand sailors, distinguished for activity and industry. 
The Turkish governors are induced from motives of interest to pro- 
tect the Greek merchants ; and these, again, by their wealth are 
enabled to defray more easily the demands made upon them. The 
weight of that yoke " which neither they nor their fathers have been 
« able to bear," is in some degree lightened; and they have the power 
of promoting a great and valuable object, the institution of schools 
for the instruction of their countrymen. 

We are reminded in some measure of the better days of Greece, 
when we contemplate the physical character of the modern inhabi- 
tants of that country. This, at least, has not been altered by the 
political degradation to which they have long been exposed. If the 
white complexion and long flaxen hair of the Vandals may be still 
discovered in the heart of the Moorish tribes, (Shaw) ; if the in- 
habitants of Normandy still resemble the Danes, whose ancestors, 
ten centuries ago, were fixed in that part of France, (Volney) ; if 
the Copts, though they have been mixed with other nations, still 
retain* the Egyptian conformation of face, we may reasonably sup- 
pose that the features and physiognomy of the modern Greeks bear 
a resemblance to those of the ancient inhabitants of the country. 
The steps which have been taken to diffuse education and literature 
among them must be attended with great benefits ; but, after all, it 
is not mere instruction that can do much ; the advantages to be de- 
rived from it must at present be confined within narrow limits. The 
character of man is formed by civil institutions ; and any great na- 
tional improvement is incompatible with the actual situation of the 
Greeks. Their political condition forbids the full exercise of those 



* Browne, p. 72. 



30 



CAUSES OF THE WEAKNESS AND DECLINE 



moral and social relations comprehended in the term, country. They 
may be considered as presenting themselves to our notice under two 
general classes ; the one, engaged in trade ; the other, including many 
of the lower order of ecclesiastics, employed in the labours of agricul- 
ture. The path of commerce is distinctly pointed out to them by 
their situation under the Turkish empire ; it is their necessary em- 
ployment, for the same reason that it became the occupation of the 
Christians in the persecuting time of Diocletian, and is now that of 
the Jews in every quarter of the globe. The Greeks can receive in 
their present state no encouragement to direct their attention to ob- 
jects of liberal pursuit ; the finer arts, the arts of sculpture, architec- 
ture, eloquence, poetry, only flourish where a greater degree of liberty 
is enjoyed, than they can obtain. There is no walk of honourable 
ambition open to them. The very offices of trust and power which 
they hold enable the Turks to wrest by their means more easily from 
their oppressed subjects the fruits of their industry. The Greek 
clergy may be better instructed, and become better qualified to dis- 
charge the duties of their stations ; but the cupidity and rapacity of 
the Porte* must be satisfied. The Turks will continue to expose the 
high offices of the Greek church to sale ; and simony, and the arts of 
low intrigue, will be the means of procuring those of an inferior de- 
gree. Even if we should suppose that literature might be generally 
diffused among the Greeks, we need not necessarily conclude that 
they will attract the attention of the enlightened part of Europe by 
their exertions in any branch of it. In the reigns of Vespasian and 
Nero, learning was common in the Roman empire: but we meet 
with no advancement or perfection of knowledge in those ages. In 



* " The sport which they make of the miserable dignities of the Greek church, the little 
factions of the Harem to which they make them subservient, the continual sale to which 
they expose and re-expose the same dignity, and by which they squeeze all the inferior 
orders of the clergy, are nearly equal to all the other oppressions together, exercised by 
Musulmeri over the unhappy members of the oriental church." Burke on the Penal Laws 
against the Irish Catholics, p. 537. 



OF THE TURKISH MONARCHY. 3X 

i 

accounting for the literary degeneracy of the modern-Greeks, it is not 
sufficient to state, that the form of government under which they live 
is arbitrary 'and despotic; there is another cause to which great 
influence is to be ascribed; the Greeks can never be blended with 
the Turks. When the Tartar nations invaded the empire of China, 
they adopted the habits and manners of their subjects ; when the 
Goths took possession of the provinces they had subdued, they be- 
came associated with the inhabitants by customs, marriages, and 
laws ; but since the subjugation of Greece by the Turks, a broad line 
of separation has been drawn between the conquered and the con- 
querors, by the difference of religion and language ; and the recipro- 
cated feelings of aversion and dislike have been increased by the 
influence of the former. No country in a condition similar to that of 
modern Greece has ever exerted itself in letters or the fine arts. The 
Hindoos since the era of the Mahometan conquest have been inferior 
in philosophy to their ancestors. No literary production of note 
appeared in Spain while it was under the dominion of the Moors. In 
England no Anglo-Saxon composition was produced in the course of 
a century after the Norman conquest ; but under Henry the Second 
the Normans and English were blended, and about this time, some 
poetry was composed in the English, or at least the Anglo-Norman 
dialect. The most eminent works of modern Italy, France, and G er- 
many were produced by writers living under various forms of govern- 
ment ; none, however, of these individuals were placed with respect 
to the rest of the community in that distinct and separate situation 
which the Greeks now hold under the dominion of the Turks. 



32 



CAUSES OF THE WEAKNESS AND DECLINE, &c. 



Note, respecting the Massacre of the Mamelukes {mentioned in page 23.) by the Turks, in 
the year 1811. Extracted from a Letter written by a Gentleman in Cairo to the Hon. 
Frederic North, on the very day on which the event happened. 

" Nothing can be imagined more dreadful than the scene of the murder. The Mame- 
lukes had left the Divan, and were arrived at one of the narrow passages in their way to 
the gate of the citadel, when a fire from 2000 Albanians was poured in upon them, from 
the tops of the walls and in all directions. Unprepared for any thing of the sort, and em- 
barrassed by the want of room, they were capable of scarcely any resistance; a few almost 
harmless blows were all they attempted, and those who were not killed by the fire, were 
dragged from their horses, stripped naked ; with a handkerchief bound round their heads, 
and another round their waists, they were led before the Pasha and his sons, and by them 
ordered to immediate execution. Even there the suffering was aggravated, and instead 
of being instantly beheaded, many were not at first wounded mortally; they were shot in 
different parts of their bodies, with pistols, or stuck with daggers; many struggled to 
break loose from those who held them ; some succeeded, and were killed in corners of the 
citadel, or on the top of the Pasha's harem. Others, quite boys of twelve or fourteen 
years, cried eagerly for mercy, protesting with very obvious truth that they were innocent 
of any conspiracy, and offering themselves as slaves to the Pasha : all these, and in short 
every one, however young, and incapable of guilt, or however old, and tried in his fidelity, 
the most elevated and the most obscure, were hurried before the Pasha, who sternly re- 
fused them mercy, one by one, impatient until he was assured the destruction was 
complete. Here, then, is an end of the Mamelukes : and this is the Pasha who piques 
himself on his clemency. I know nothing in the whole of this miserable scene more dis- 
tressing than the situation of the wives of the Beys; for to distinguish in every particular 
this tumult from all others, even the harems have not been respected; and these unfortu- 
nate women, driven from their apartments which they thought a kind of sanctuary, and 
stripped of nearly all their clothes, deprived of every refuge, are still wandering, without a 
protector, without a home, and even without bread. 

" They say, six or seven hundred are already killed, and a proclamation has been cried 
through the town, enjoining every one to deliver up any Mameluke, who may be con- 
cealed in his house, under pain of death, and the confiscation of his property." 



TRAVELS 

IN 

TURKEY. 



ACCOUNT OF A JOURNEY 

THROUGH 

THE DISTRICT OF MAINA, IN THE MOREA. 

ThAT part of the ancient Laconia, now called Maina, though often 
incidentally mentioned by earlier travellers, had been scarcely, if 
ever, visited by any of them, when the course of my tour led me 
thither in the spring of 1795. The independence which the Mainiots 
had long maintained against the Pashas of the Morea, and the agents 
of the Porte, the jealousy with which they guarded their frontier 
from the intrusion of every stranger, who travelled under Turkish 
protection, the nature of that frontier, and their predatory incursions 
into the territory of their enemies the Turks, had not only opposed 
real difficulties to the intercourse of a traveller with the country, but 
had invested their character with so much terror, that it was almost 
impossible to ascertain from the report of their neighbours* whether 
they could be visited with safety under any circumstances of precau- 
tion. Certainly they were described to us as robbers, whom no 

F 



34 



JOURNEY THROUGH MAINA. 



consideration of hospitality could bind from the exercise of their pro- 
fession, and the stranger who ventured within their frontier was 
taught to expect the loss of liberty, or even of his life, unless he re- 
deemed them by a heavy ransom. Such were the representations of 
the Turkish governors in the Morea, which were echoed by the Greek 
merchants of Livadea and Napoli. It was easy to perceive much 
exaggeration in these accounts ; for sometimes we had met with small 
vessels commanded or manned by natives of Maina, who carried on 
a coasting trade with other parts of the Levant, though not without 
the imputation of occasional piracy ; and we learnt from them that 
it was their policy to keep up as much as possible the alarming repu- 
tation which the fears and hatred of the Turks had conferred upon 
them. We determined on approaching the south of the Morea to 
use every means of procuring accurate information of the state of this 
almost unvisited district, and the result was that we not only passed 
its boundaries, but received great gratification in witnessing from the 
hospitality of its inhabitants a state of society very remote from that 
which falls under the observation of a traveller in other parts of the 
Levant. It should be remembered that I am describing Maina, as 
it existed in 1795, when many of its inhabitants had never seen a 
foreigner, and while they strictly adhered to their institutions and 
customs, on which they had founded their freedom and inde- 
pendence. 

The Maina, as is well known to every traveller in Greece, included 
at the time I was there that part of Laconia between the gulphs of 
Messene and Gythium, bounded on the north by the highest ridge of 
Taygetus, from whence a chain of rugged mountains descends to 
Cape Matapan, the southern termination of the country. We entered 
it from the Messenian side, after visiting Calamata, a small but popu- 
lous town, inhabited principally by Greeks who were subject to the 
Pasha of the Morea. It was at this place that we procured the neces- 
sary intelligence respecting our further progress, and as there are 
some objects of classical interest in the vicinity of this little town, 
which have hitherto been imperfectly described, and the geography 



IN THE MOREA. 



35 



of the ancients respecting this part of the Messenian territory admits 
of further elucidation, I shall begin the extracts from my journal from 
our arrival at Calamata on the 7th of April. 

This town is situated not far from the sea on the eastern side of 
the beautiful and extensive plain of Messenia. This plain is watered 
by the Pamisus*, and extends along the shore for about fifteen miles 
from Ithome and the mountains that separate Messenia from Triphy- 
lia to Taygetus. Cotylus and Lycaeus are the boundaries to the 
north-east and north, whence the Pamisus rolls its waters to the sea. 
Its sources are mentioned by Pausanias in the way which led from 
Thuria into Arcadia. Notwithstanding the slowness of its course it 
is the largest river in the Peloponnesus, and divides itself into three 
or four considerable streams, encircling small islands in its progress 
between the foot of Mount Ithome f and the sea. The whole plain 
is naturally fertile, and the eastern part of it near Calamata is a scene 
of rich and beautiful cultivation. The fields are divided by high 
fences of the Cactus or prickly pear, and large orchards of the white 
mulberry tree, the food of silk-worms (of which the inhabitants of 
this part of the plain rear great numbers), are interspersed with fields 
of maize, olive grounds, and gardens almost worthy of Alcinous him- 
self. Among these the small town of Calamata stands, consisting of 
perhaps three hundred houses scattered amidst the gardens and along 
the banks of the rivulet that now bears its name. This rivulet descends 
from Taygetus, and was anciently the Nedon described in Strabo, 
lib. viii. p. 360., as falling into the sea near Pheras, or Pharae. It has 
every character of a mountain torrent, an inconsiderable stream in 
summer, and even when we were there (in spring) it was almost lost 
in a bed of large stones and gravel of about one hundred yards in 



* Now called Pirnatza. Mr. M. confirms the words of Strabo, who says " it is the 
largest river (meaning the broadest, for in length the Eurotas and Alpheus exceed it) 
within the isthmus." Lib. viii. 

f Now called Mount Vulkano ; the ruins of Messene are near a spot named Mavroma- 
thia. See the French edition of Strabo, and Gell's Itinerary of the Morea. 

F 2 



36 



JOURNEY THROUGH MAINA, 



width, brought down by its violence in the winter months. It falls into 
the sea at the distance of about a mile from Calamata, and the same 
devastation marks its course through the plain. Its banks are covered 
with brushwood, and its progress is interrupted by little islands of 
copse. Amongst these fringes of its banks, we sought in vain for the 
ruins of the town of Pheras, which, according to Pausanias, stood at 
six stadia from the sea, in the way from Abia to Thuria, consequently 
at no great distance, and probably on the very situation of the modern 
town of Calamata. This last derives its name from Calamae, a village 
mentioned by Pausanias, lib. iv. ; which still exists and retains its 
ancient name, and is situated at the distance of about two miles from 
Calamata, and more inland. The cultivation of the plains, and the 
modern buildings there, during the period when the Venetians pos- 
sessed this fertile country, have tended to obliterate the inconsiderable 
remains of antiquity which might be expected to have come down to 
us from the age of Strabo and Pausanias. 

The modern town is built on a plan not unusual in this part of the 
Morea, and well adapted for the defence of the inhabitants against 
the attacks of the pirates that infest the coast. Each house is a sepa- 
rate edifice, and many of them are high square towers of brown stone, 
built while the Venetians had possession of the country. The lower 
story of their habitations serves chiefly for offices or warehouses of 
merchandize, and the walls on every side are pierced with loop-holes 
for the use of musketry, while the doors are strongly barricadoed. A 
small Greek church stands near the Nedon in front of Calamata, and 
behind the town a ruined Venetian fortress rises on a hill over the 
gardens and dwellings of the inhabitants. The Greeks who lived 
there were rich and at their ease ; the fields in the vicinity of the 
town belonged to them, and they had also a considerable trade, the 
chief articles of which arose from their cultivation of silk and oil. 
They were governed by men of their own nation and appointment, 
subject only to the approval of the Pasha of the Morea, who resided 
at Tripolizza, and to the payment of a tribute which was collected 
among themselves, and transmitted by a Turkish Vaivode, who, with 



IN THE MOREA. 37 

a small party of Janissaries was stationed here for that purpose, and 
for the defence of the town against the Mainiots. 

While preparations were making for our journey into Maina, we 
proceeded to examine the different objects of antiquity in the vici- 
nity of Calamata. We mounted our horses, and proceeded north- 
ward along the plain to Palseo-castro, where from the name of the 
place we expected the ruins of an ancient city, and from the distance 
and direction those of Thuria. " Pharse is at the distance of six 
" stadia from the sea. From hence the city of Thuria is at the dis- 
" tance of eighty stadia, to a traveller who is proceeding to the inland 
" part of Messenia. It is supposed to be the same city which in 
" Homer's poem is called Anthea. The inhabitants of Thuria leav- 
" ing their city, which had originally been built upon an eminence, 
" descended into the plain and dwelt there. They did not however 
" entirely abandon the upper city, but the ruins of the walls remain 
" there, and a temple of the Syrian goddess. The river Aris flows 
" near the city of the plain."* Strabo says that the ancient name 
of Thuria was Aipeia, a name derived from its lofty situation, though 
he also mentions the fact that some topographers placed Anthea here, 
and Aipeia at Methone. 

Leaving Calamata we passed the village of Kutchukmaina, and 
skirting the mountain of Taygetus which rose on our right hand, we 
came in about an hour to the ruin of ancient baths, of which the 
buildings that remain are very considerable. The construction is of 
brick, and the principal entrance to the south. This leads into a 
large vaulted hall with groined semi-circular arches ; on each side of 
the entrance are rooms which had rows of pipes in the walls for the 
conveyance of hot water, of which pipes the fragments still remain. 
The hall has a large arch on each side, and extends beyond the arches 
to the east and west extremity of the building. An arched passage 
between other bath-rooms corresponding with the entrance leads from 
the north side of the hall into a spacious saloon, the ceiling of which 



* Pausan. lib. iv. c. 31. 



38 



JOURNEY THROUGH MAINA, 



is also vaulted with groined arches, and the aspect to the north. In 
these bath-rooms remain contrivances for heating the apartments, 
and in one the wall is cased with tiles, perforated for the admission 
of steam. A small bath is at the end of the eastern suit of rooms, 
which has been lined with stucco. This has been supplied with hot 
water from the pipes. The water used here appears from the sedi- 
ment near the pipes and on the walls to have been impregnated with 
sulphur. A detached semi-circular reservoir, still traceable to the 
east of the building, supplied the water for its use. The rooms to 
the north east are in ruins ; the rest, though stripped of the marble 
ornaments which once adorned them, remain entire. The bricks are 
of the size and texture of the Ptoman bricks, and probably the build- 
ing itself must be referred to that people. I find no mention of it in 
any ancient author, but from the style of the construction could not 
refer it to any more recent period ; though it appears to have been 
used long after the decline of Roman dominion. 

From hence we continued our journey to Palaeo-castro, a village 
still inhabited, and surrounded with the ruins of an ancient city. 
They cover the space of nearly the circuit of two miles, and parts of 
the ancient wall of Thuria may be traced by the foundations that re- 
main. These are all upon a hill at the foot of Taygetus, which retains 
many vestiges of the former town. Amongst them lie scattered 
several marble tympana of fluted columns of the Doric order ; pro- 
bably the remains of the temple dedicated to the Syrian goddess, of 
which at least we found no other indication. There is a large oblong 
cistern or tank hewn in the rock, and coated with a cement that still 
adheres to many parts of its sides, which we found on measurement 
to be twenty-three yards long and sixteen broad. The depth of it is 
now about fourteen feet : much soil having fallen into it. The walls 
are not so distinctly traceable as to enable us to ascertain the exact 
extent of this ancient city; the vestiges of that which was subsequently 
inhabited in the plain are far more indistinct. The soil there is rich 
and deep, and broken into platforms and angles of very singular ap- 
pearance, by the waters from the mountains. Some of these are so 



IN THE MOREA. 



39 



regular, as to present almost the appearance of a modern fortification. 
Here, however, the Aris, an inconsiderable stream, still flows to the 
Pamisus, and, while the ancient ruins are visible on the hill, the ferti- 
lity of the plain has obliterated the more recent habitations of the 
Thurians : 

Deep harvests bury all their pride has plann'd, 
And laughing Ceres re-assumes the land. 

We returned to Calamata through other villages nearer to the 
mountain than the baths by which we had come before, and through 
a country the cultivation of which attested the comfort of the inhabit- 
ants. The Greek proprietors of this little district could so easily 
remove themselves and their property into Maina, that the domi- 
nion the Turks exercised over them was more limited in its nature, 
than in most other parts of the Levant ; and content with the annual 
payment of a sum of money, and occasional bribes to himself and his 
officers, the Pasha allowed them in peace to cultivate their estates, and 
sell the produce unmolested by the petty agents of despotism, who, 
as Agas and Vaivodes, exercised a subordinate tyranny through the 
rest of the Morea. 

April 1 1th.- — From Calamata our journey conducted us eastward 
round the end of the bay of Corone, and then in a southerly direction 
along the shore. We soon came to several copious salt-springs, 
which gush out from a low rock ; below them are two or three mills 
whose wheels are turned by their stream. These were anciently be- 
tween the cities of Pherae and Abia, and now divide the district of 
Calamata from Maina. Abia is still pointed out on the shore to the 
south of the salt-springs. Near the mills we came to a square stone 
tower, the residence of a Mainiot chief. As I shall have frequently 
occasion to mention similar towers and their inhabitants, a general 
explanation of the government and state of Maina at the time I saw 
it will best enable the reader to understand the occurrences which I 
shall have to relate. 

The government of Maina at the time I visited it, resembled in 
many respects the ancient establishment of the Highland clans in 



40 



JOURNEY THROUGH MAINA, 



Scotland. It was divided into smaller or larger districts, over each 
of which a chief, or Capitano, presided, whose usual residence was a 
fortified tower, the resort of his family and clan in times of peace, 
and their refuge in war. The district they governed belonged to 
their retainers, who each contributed a portion (I think, a tenth) of 
the produce of his land to the maintenance of the family under whom 
he held. Each chief, besides this, had his own domain, which was 
cultivated by his servants and slaves, and which was never very 
considerable. They were perfectly independent of each other ; the 
judges of their people at home, and their leaders when they took the 
field. The most powerful Capitano of the district usually assumed 
the title of Bey of Maina, and in that name transacted their business 
with the Turks, negotiated their treaties, or directed their arms against 
the common enemy. In the country itself his power rested merely 
on the voluntary obedience of the other chiefs, and his jurisdiction 
extended in fact only over his own immediate dependants. The 
Turkish court, to preserve at least a shadow of power over this 
refractory community, generally confirmed by a ferman the appoint- 
ment of the Bey, whose own power or influence enabled him to 
support the title. The population of Maina is so great in proportion 
to its fertility, that they are obliged to import many of the common 
necessaries of life. For these they must occasionally trade with the 
Turkish provinces, and exchange their own oil and silk and domestic 
manufactures for the more essential articles of wheat and maize, and 
provisions. To obtain these, they had recourse sometimes to smug- 
gling, and sometimes to a regular payment of the Charatch, and ac- 
knowledgment of the supremacy of the Porte. This they again threw 
off, when a favourable year, or any extraordinary sources of supply ren- 
dered their submission unnecessary ; and by such rebellion had more 
than once drawn upon them the vengeance of their powerful neigh- 
bour. The contest had been repeatedly renewed, and as often the 
Turks had been repulsed or had fallen victims to the determined 
resistance of the Mainiots, and the inaccessible nature of their 
country. 



IN THE MOREA. 



41 



The coast indented with small creeks, containing the row-boats 
used universally in piratical excursions, is every where surrounded by 
rocks and exposed to winds which render it unsafe for transports and 
ships of burden. On the arrival of an enemy, their villages and 
towers along the shore were deserted, and the people retired to the 
mountains, the steep ridges of Taygetus, that rise from the shore, 
where other villages and securer valleys afforded them a temporary 
shelter from the storm of invasion. Should a body of troops be 
landed, and wreak their vengeance on the deserted habitations, the 
first rising gale cuts them off from all hopes of assistance from their 
fleet. A hardy people, well acquainted with every path of their 
native mountains, armed to a man with excellent rifles, dispersing 
easily by day, and assembling as easily every night, would distress 
them every hour they staid, and harass them at every step, if they 
advanced. The very women, well acquainted with the use of arms, 
have more than once poured ruin from the walls of some strong-built 
tower, or well-situated village, on the assailants, from whom they had 
nothing to expect but slaughter or captivity, if conquered. The 
country admits not of the conveyance of artillery, and their towers, 
ill calculated as they may seem for the improved warfare of more 
polished nations, offered a powerful means of resistance against the 
efforts of the Turks, and had more than once materially delayed their 
progress. 

Should the Turks attack them by land, their frontier to the north 
is still more impenetrable. The loftiest and most inaccessible rocks, 
and the highest summits of Taygetus occupy the whole line, leaving 
only two roads that are shut in by the mountain on one side, and the 
sea on the other. The passes of the interior part of the country are 
known only to the natives, and to penetrate along the coast, while the 
Mainiots are in possession of the mountains, would require courage 
and discipline very superior to such as are generally displayed by the 
Turkish soldiery. In the war conducted by Lambro, with Russian 
money, the Mainiots were found so troublesome to the Turks, that a 
combined attack was made upon their country by the fleet under the 

G 



42 



JOURNEY THROUGH MAINA, 



Capoudan Pasha, which landed troops upon their coast, and the forces 
of the Morea, which marched at the same time from Misitra. The 
number of these two armies, probably exaggerated, was rated by the 
Maiciiots at 20,000 men. The result of the attack by sea was pointed 
out to me near Cardamyle ; a heap of whitening bones in a dell near 
the town, the remains of the Turks, who, after suffering the severest 
privations, were not so fortunate as the rest in finding a refuge in 
their fleet. The attack by land was equally disastrous. After a fruit- 
less attempt to advance, and burning a few inconsiderable villages, 
their army was obliged to retire, harassed by the fury of the people, 
while another party of the Mainiots burst into the plain of the 
Eurotas, drove off whatever they could plunder, and in the flames of 
Misitra, a considerable Turkish town, expiated the trifling mischief 
they had sustained at home. 

Such are the stories at least which I heard repeated by their chiefs, 
and which the common people no less delighted to tell. Though 
easily united, when threatened by the Turk, yet frequent feuds, and 
petty warfare, too often arose between their chiefs at home ; these 
feuds, however, preserved alive the martial spirit of the people, and 
they were, perhaps, on this account more successful in their resistance 
than they would have been if their government was more settled, and 
they had enjoyed a more uninterrupted peace. By sea their warfare 
was still more inextinguishable. They infested with their row-boats 
every corner of the Cyclades and Morea, and made a lawful prize of 
any vessel that was too weak for resistance ; or entered by night into 
the villages and dwellings near the shore, carrying off whatever they 
could find. Boats of this sort, called here Trattas, abounded in every 
creek ; they are long and narrow like canoes ; ten, twenty, and even 
thirty men, each armed with a rifle and pistols, row them with great 
celerity, and small masts with Latine sails are also used when the 
winds are favourable. Every chief had one or more of these, and all 
exercised piracy as freely, and with the same sentiments, as appeared to 
have prevailed among the heroes of the Odyssey and early inha- 
bitants of Greece. 



IN THE MOREA. 



43 



Habits like these, it may well be supposed, had a correspondent 
effect on the national character. Their freedom, though turbulent 
and ill regulated, produced the effects of freedom ; they were active, 
industrious, and intelligent. Among their chiefs, I found men toler- 
ably versed in the modern Romaic literature, and some who had suffi- 
cient knowledge of their ancient language to read Herodotus and 
Xenophon, and who were well acquainted with the revolutions of 
their country. Their independence and their victories had given 
them confidence, and they possessed the lofty mind and attachment 
to their country which has every where distinguished the inhabitants 
of mountainous and free districts, whether in Britain, Switzerland, 
or Greece. The robbery and piracy they exercised indiscriminately 
in their roving expeditions they dignified by the name of war ; but 
though their hostility was treacherous and cruel, their friendship was 
inviolable. The stranger that was within their gates was a sacred 
title, and not even the Arabs were more attentive to the claims of 
hospitality. When we delivered our letters of recommendation to a 
chief, he received us with every mark of friendship, escorted us every 
where while we staid, and conducted us safely to the house of his 
nearest neighbour, where he left us under the protection of his friend ; 
there we again staid a short time, and were forwarded in the same 
manner to a third. To pass by such a chief's dwelling without stop- 
ping to visit it, would have been deemed an insult, as the reception of 
strangers was a privilege highly valued. While a stranger was under 
their protection, his safety was their first object ; an insult to such a 
person would have aroused in their breasts the strongest incitements 
to revenge ; his danger would have induced them to sacrifice even 
their lives to his preservation, as his suffering any injury would have 
been an indelible disgrace to the family where it happened. 

The religion of the Mainiots is that of the Greek Christian church, 
with its usual accompaniments of saints, holy places, and holy pic- 
tures. Their churches were numerous, clean, and well attended ; 
their superstition was great, as may be supposed from the adventu- 
rous and precarious life I have described. Hence their fondness for 

g 2 



44 



JOURNEY THROUGH MAINA, 



amulets and charms, and faith in them : but I know not whether 
they carry these to a greater height than the rest of their nation. 

A more pleasing feature in their character, was their domestic 
intercourse with the other sex. Their wives and daughters, unlike 
those of most other districts in the Levant, were neither secluded, 
corrupted, or enslaved. Women succeeded in default of male issue 
to the possessions of their fathers, and partook at home of the confi- 
dence of their husbands, the education of their children, and the 
management of their families. In the villages they shared in the 
labours of domestic life, and in war they even partook of the dangers 
of the field. In no country were they more at liberty, and in no 
country were there fewer instances of its abuse than in Maina at this 
period. Conjugal infidelity was extremely rare, and indeed as death 
was sure to follow detection, and might even follow suspicion, it was 
not likely to have made much progress. The dress and appearance 
of these heroines will be described in the course of my relation ; they 
were very different indeed from what the Amazonian nature of their 
habits and accomplishments would lead the reader to suppose. 

To return, then, to the tower of Myla, so called from the mills I 
have mentioned on the salt streams which are described by Pausanias 
near Abia. The Capitano who received us invited us to his house, 
and set before us a repast, of which he partook himself, the usual 
symbol of hospitality, but here the pledge of safety. He assured us 
of the security with which we might proceed ; his own possessions 
were inconsiderable, and his followers not numerous, but his house, 
though small, was neat and well appointed. After eating with us, he 
attended us with a large train on foot to Abia, the ruins of which are 
on the shore at the distance of above a mile from the salt-springs, in 
a southerly direction : one old piece of wall, of massive masonry, of a 
circular form, and the remains of a Mosaic pavement in the floor of a 
modern Greek church, are all the vestiges of antiquity that ascertain the 
spot where Abia stood, except the platform, and marks on the ground 
which indicate that other buildings formerly existed. In the tradi- 
tion of the country the circular ruin had been a bath : however, on 



I 



IN THE MOREA. 



45 



asking our conductor by what authority he asserted this, his answer 
was, " My father received it from his father, who heard the same 
" from his ; if they were all mistaken, so am I." Our friend here 
took leave of us, sending with us to Kitrees, one of his armed follow- 
ers, who walked on before our party. The road lies along the shore. 

From Myla the mountains of Taygetus rise in high ridges to the 
east, and descend in rocky slopes to the sea. The country is barren 
and stony beyond conception, and yet the earth, which is washed by 
the rains and torrents from the higher parts is supported on a thousand 
platforms and terraces, by the indefatigable industry of the inhabi- 
tants, and these were covered with corn, maize, olives, and mulberry 
trees, which seemed to grow out of the rock itself. Through such a 
country we arrived at Kitrees, a small hamlet of five or six cottages, 
scattered round another fortress, the residence of Zanetachi Kutu- 
phari, formerly Bey of Maina, and of his niece Helena, to whom 
the property belonged. The house consisted of two towers of stone, 
exactly resembling our own old towers upon the borders of England 
and Scotland ; a row of offices and lodgings for servants, stables, and 
open sheds, inclosing a court, the entrance to which was through an 
arched and embattled gateway. On our approach, an armed retainer 
of the family came out to meet us, spoke to our guard who attended 
us from Myla. He returned with him to the castle, and informed 
the chief, who hastened to the gate to welcome us, surrounded by a 
crowd of gazing attendants all surprised at the novelty of seeing Eng- 
lish guests. We were received, however, with the most cordial wel- 
come, and shewn to a comfortable room on the principal floor of the 
tower, inhabited by himself and his family ; the other tower, being 
the residence of the Capitanessa, his niece, for that was the title which 
she bore. 

Zanetachi Kutuphari was a venerable figure, though not above the 
age of fifty-six. His family consisted of a wife and four daughters, 
the two youngest of which were children. They inhabited the apart- 
ment above ours, and were, on our arrival, introduced to us. The 
old chief, who himself had dined at an earlier hour, sat down however 



46 



JOURNEY THROUGH MAINA, 



to eat with us according to the established etiquette of hospitality 
here, while his wife and the two younger children waited on us, not- 
withstanding our remonstrances, according to the custom of the 
country, for a short time, then retired, and left a female servant to 
attend us and him. At night, beds and mattresses were spread on the 
floor, and pillows and sheets, embroidered and composed of broad 
stripes of muslin and coloured silk, were brought in. These articles, 
we found, were manufactured at home by the women of the family ; 
as the Greeks themselves invariably wear their under garments when 
they sleep, the inconvenience of such a bed is little felt. 

April 12. — As the day after our arrival at Kitrees was Easter Sun- 
day, we of course remained there, and had an opportunity of witness- 
ing and partaking in the universal festivity which prevailed not only 
in the castle, but in the villages of the country round it. In every 
Greek house a lamb is killed at this season, and the utmost rejoicing 
prevails. We dined with Zanetachi Kutuphari and his family at their 
usual hour of half-past eleven in the forenoon, and after our dinner 
were received in much state by his niece Helena in her own apart- 
ments. She was in fact the lady of the castle, and chief of the district 
round it, which was her own by inheritance from her father. She 
was a young widow, and still retained much of her beauty ; her man- 
ners were pleasing and dignified. An audience in form from a young 
woman accompanied by her sister, who sat near her, and a train of 
attendant females in the rich and elegant dress of the country, was a 
novelty in our tour, and so unlike the customs which prevailed within 
a few short miles from the spot where we were, that it seemed like an 
enchantment of romance. The Capitanessa alone was seated at our 
entrance, who, when she had offered us chairs, requested her sister 
to sit down near her, and ordered her attendants to bring coffee and 
refreshments. We were much struck with the general beauty of the 
Mainiot women here, which we afterwards found was not confined to 
Kitrees ; we remarked it in many other villages ; and it is of a kind 
that from their habits of life would not naturally be expected. With 
the same fine features that prevail among the beauties of Italy and 



IN THE MOREA. 



47 



Sicily, they have the delicacy and transparency of complexion, with 
the brown or auburn hair, which seems peculiar to the colder regions. 
Indeed, from the vicinity to the sea, the summers here are never in- 
tensely hot, nor are the winters severe in this southern climate ; the 
same causes in some of the Greek islands produce the same effect, 
and the women are much more beautiful in general than those of the 
same latitude on the continent. The men, too, are a well propor- 
tioned and active race, not above the middle size, but spare, sinewy, 
and muscular. 

The Capitanessa wore a light blue shawl-gown, embroidered with 
gold ; a sash tied loosely round her waist ; and a short vest without 
sleeves of embroidered crimson velvet. Over these was a dark green 
velvet Polonese mantle, with wide and open sleeves, also richly em- 
broidered. On her head was a green velvet cap, embroidered with 
gold, and appearing like a coronet, and a white and gold muslin shawl 
fixed on the right shoulder, and passed across her bosom under the 
left arm floated over the coronet and hung to the ground behind 
her. 

Her uncle's dress was equally magnificent. He wore a close vest 
with open sleeves of white and gold embroidery, and a short black 
velvet mantle with sleeves edged with sables. The sash which held his 
pistols and his poignard was a shawl of red and gold. His light blue 
trowsers were gathered at the knee, and below them were close gaiters 
of blue cloth with gold embroidery, and silver gilt bosses to protect 
the ancles. When he left the house, he flung on his shoulders a rich 
cloth mantle with loose sleeves, which was blue without and red with- 
in, embroidered with gold in front and down the sleeves in the most 
sumptuous manner. His turban was green and gold ; and, contrary 
to the Turkish custom, his grey hair hung down below it. The dress 
of the lower orders is in the same form, with the necessary variations 
in the quality of the materials and absence of the ornaments. It 
differed considerably from that of the Turks, and the shoes were made 
either of yellow or untanned leather, and fitted tightly to the foot. 
The hair was never shaved, and the women wore gowns like those of 



48 



JOURNEY THROUGH MAINA, 



the west of Europe, instead of being gathered at the ancles like the 
loose trowsers of the East. 

In the course of the afternoon we walked into some of the neigh- 
bouring villages ; the inhabitants were every where dancing and 
enjoying themselves on the green, and those of the houses and little 
harbour of Kitrees with the crews of two small boats that were moored 
there, were employed in the same way, till late in the evening. We 
found our friend Zanetachi well acquainted with both the ancient and 
modern state of Maina, having been for several years the Bey of the 
district. From him I derived much of the information to which 
I have recourse in describing the manners and principles of the Mai- 
niots. He told me that in case of necessity, on an attack from the 
Turks, the numbers they could bring to act, consisting of every man 
in the country able to bear arms, amounted to about 12,000. All of 
these were trained to the use of the rifle even from their childhood, 
and after they grew up were possessed of one without which they 
never appeared ; and, indeed, it was as much a part of their dress as 
a sword formerly was of an English gentleman. Their constant fami- 
liarity with this weapon had rendered them singularly expert in the 
use of it ; there are fields near every village where the boys practised 
at the target, and even the girls and women took their part in this 
martial amusement. 

April 13. — We left Kitrees, not without regret on our part, or the 
kind expression of it on that of our hospitable friends, who supplied 
us with mules, and sent with us an escort to conduct us to Carda- 
moula, the ancient Cardamyle. It is not above ten miles from 
Kitrees, where we were detained to a late hour by the kindness and 
hospitality of our hosts. Below the castle is a small harbour sheltered 
from the south by a rocky promontory, which runs out westward to 
the sea, and is about half a mile in length. On leaving the village we 
ascended by a winding road in a south easterly direction until we 
came to the top of this stony ridge, and looked down on a valley en- 
closed by mountains still more to the east. Several little villages and 
churches are scattered over the vale and on the sides of the hills that 



IN THE MOREA. 



49 



surround it. Behind them rose a high, black, and barren range of 
mountains, the summits of which were covered with snow. In one 
of these villages we were shown, on inquiring after antiquities, an 
bid ruined tower, of a construction more recent than the Grecian age, 
and we thought it probably was of Venetian workmanship. The 
valley itself and the lower hills were cultivated like a garden, and 
formed a scene of great beauty. The principal villages in this tract 
are Dokyes, Barussa, and Zarnata, and among these may perhaps 
be discovered the traces of some of the ancient towns of the Eleuthero- 
Laconians, enumerated by Pausanias near Gerenia, 

We were amused in passing through several of these little hamlets 
with the simple curiosity of the people. The men who escorted us 
requested with great submission that we would stop on the road, 
until they could apprise their friends of our arrival, because most of 
them had never seen a stranger, and none of them an Englishman. 
The word was no sooner given, than off they ran, and as the tidings 
spread, and shouts were heard and answered from the fields, labour 
stood still, and men, women, and children flocked round us on our 
approach. Their appearance was such as I have described ; the men 
well-formed and active, the women in general fairer than the other 
Greeks, and very beautiful. The men in succession shook us cordi- 
ally by the hand, and welcomed us to their country, and crowds fol- 
lowed us as we proceeded on our journey. The road from hence led 
us in a southerly direction over a most stony and barren ridge to the 
shore, and afterwards continued along the sea, until our arrival at 
Cardamyla. The country round it, though cultivated in the same 
laborious manner, was still more stony and barren than at Kitrees ; 
even in the small fissures of the rock, olives and mulberries were 
planted, and spots of only a few feet in diameter were dug over, and 
sown with corn and maize. On the hills there were many apiaries, 
and the produce is of the finest sort of honey, equal almost to that of 
Hymettus, but of a paler colour. 

Cardamyla is now a small village, in which were three or four 
towers, the property of chieftains who possessed the country round it. 

H 



JOURNEY THROUGH MAINA, 



We had letters to them from Zanetachi Kutuphari, and from the mer- 
chants of Calamata, and a dispute again arose for the pleasure of 
receiving us. At last we were shown to the largest of these towers, 
and treated with all possible hospitality. The whole village flocked 
to our house, and we found that nearly every man was a relation of 
the chiefs, and of each other, as in these districts families seldom 
migrated, and the different branches of the clan remained with the 
principal stock, in whose house there was a collection of brothers, and 
nephews, and cousins, to a remote degree of affinity, who, as they 
became too numerous, settled themselves on the land in other houses, 
but seldom at a distance from the family. 

Behind the town is a small rocky eminence, on whose summit were 
a few vestiges of the ancient acropolis of Cardamyla. Just enough 
remained to point out the situation ; the rock itself was split by a deep 
chasm, ascribed by tradition to an earthquake. At the foot of this 
rock was seen a heap of bones, the monument of Turkish invasion. 
These were pointed out to us with all the enthusiasm of successful 
liberty, such as I had witnessed and remembered among the Swiss on 
showing the monuments of their former glory, before they yielded 
their independence and their feelings to the thraldom of France. 
Here, amid the scenes of slavery that surrounded us, the contrast was 
still more striking. Below the acropolis were several caves, and the 
remains of ancient sepulchres. We were shown the spot where the 
children of the village are taught the use of the rifle, and found that 
they practised it at ten, and even eight years of age. A groupe of 
girls and women on the village green were slinging stones and bullets 
at a mark, and seemed very expert. Their figures were light and 
active, but neither these nor their faces were more coarse or mascu- 
line than those of their languid and enervated countrywomen. The 
chief of Cardamyla assured us, that in their petty wars, they had more 
than once followed their fathers and brothers to the field, and that 
the men were more eager to distinguish themselves before the eyes 
of their female companions, and partakers in the danger. Dances 



IN THE MOREA. 



51 



on the green succeeded in this season of festivity to these female 
gymnastics, until the evening closed on our gaiety. 

April 14. — We remained great part of the day at Cardamyla in 
compliance with the wishes of our host and of his neighbours, and 
partook of the amusements on the green. After dining with him 
and his family, he attended us in his boat, the inland road being 
scarcely passable from the stony rugged hills that it surmounts. We 
viewed the situation of Leuctra, a small hamlet on the shore still re- 
taining its ancient name, but found there few and inconsiderable 
traces of antiquity. About two miles and a half from hence we came 
to the little creek of Platsa, shut in by the rock of Pephnos, near 
which was a tower, the residence of the Capitano Christeia, a chief to 
whom we were recommended. 

We had sent our letters to this chief by a messenger from Carda- 
myla, in consequence of which he met us at the port on our landing, 
attended by a large train of followers. We took leave of our friends 
of Cardamyla, who paid us a compliment at parting, not unusual in 
this country, by firing all their rifles over our heads. As this was not 
very carefully or regularly performed, and the pieces were always 
loaded with ball, the ceremony was not altogether agreeable. The 
tower of Capitano Christeia was at a small distance from the port, and 
adjoining to it were out-buildings and a long hall of entertainment as 
at Kitrees. 

Here, according to Pausanias, was formerly the little town of 
Pephnos, the situation of which is now only marked by the rocky 
islet of the port. The place was at that time inconsiderable, and the 
island contained nothing, except two small bronze figures of Castor 
and Pollux, which were, however, miraculously immovable, even by 
the winter's storm and the sea which beat upon them. The miracle 
is no longer performed, and the statues are gone. 

We walked from the shore with our host to his castle ; Capitano 
Christeia, the owner of it, was one of the most powerful, and at the 
same time the most active and turbulent chieftain in this district. 
He had paid the price of the renown he had acquired, for he bore the 

h 2 



52 



JOURNEY THROUGH MA IN A, 



marks of three bullets in the breast; the scars of two more upon his 
face, besides slighter wounds in his legs and arms : in fact his 
life was a constant scene of piracy by sea and feuds at home. He was 
about forty-five years of age, and showed us with much satisfaction 
the spoil he had amassed in his expeditions. He was friendly and 
hospitable to us, and lively and intelligent in his conversation. He 
had recently captured at sea a small French merchant ship, and re- 
lated with just indignation the following trait of the captain who com- 
manded it. After seizing on the men, money, and merchandize., 
which the vessel contained, he told the captain he would land him on 
the shore of the Morea, and offered him at his request any favour he 
might ask, out of the prize. The captain, regardless of the freedom 
of his men, or the property consigned to him, solicited only an ena- 
melled snuff-box, with a lady's hair on the outside, and a very inde- 
cent design within the lid. Christeia, who, though a pirate, was 
enraged at his unmanly and heartless levity, retracted his offer, and 
left the captain with only a shirt and a pair of trowsers in the boat, to 
shift for himself. He set the crew on shore, and brought his prize 
to Platsa, where he showed us the snuff-box with great satisfaction. 
He had also been engaged the year before we were there in hostilities 
with a neighbouring chief, and had taken the field with a company of 
eighty men, and thirty women, of whom Jhis sister had the command. 
A peace had been since made after several skirmishes, but not until 
some of his Amazons had fallen, and his sister had been wounded 
as well as himself. In the tower to which we were shown, we lived in 
a neat and comfortable room, but the walls were thick and strong, 
the windows barricadoed with iron bars, and barrels of gunpowder 
were arranged along the shelves below the ceiling. The men who 
attended in the castle had an air of military service, and the whole 
place bore in its appearance the character of the master; 

April 15. — We staid a day at this singular mansion, and were 
prevented in the morning by a heavy rain from extending our rambles 
beyond the castle. We dined with the family at twelve o'clock, and 
alter dinner went to the great room of the castle. In it, and on the 



IN THE MOREA. 



53 



green before it, we found near a hundred people of 'both. sexes and of 
all ages assembled, and partaking of the chief's hospitality. They 
flocked from all the neighbouring villages, and were dancing with 
great vivacity. The men during the dance, repeatedly fired their 
pistols through the windows, as an accompaniment to their wild 
gaiety ; and the shouts and laughter and noise were indescribable. 
Among other dances, the Ariadne, mentioned in De Guy's Travels, 
was introduced, and many which we had not yet seen in Greece. 
The men and women danced together, which was not so usual on the 
continent as in the islands. On my complimenting the Capitano on 
the performance of his lyrist, who scraped several airs on a three- 
stringed rebeck, here dignified with the name of Kv^, a lyre, he told 
me with regret, that he had indeed been fortunate enough to possess 
a most accomplished musician, a German, who played not only Greek 
dances, but many Italian and German songs; but that in. 1794 his 
fiddler, brought up in the laxer morals of western Europe, and un- 
mindful of the rigid principles of Maina, had so offended by his 
proposals the indignant chastity of a pretty woman in the neighbour- 
hood, that she shot him dead on the spot with a pistol. As evening 
approached, the strangers departed to their homes after a rifle salute, 
in the manner and form observed to us on our leaving the boat the 
day before. We again passed the night at Christeia's house, and set 
out for Vitulo the next morning. 

April 16. — We left Platsa on mules, attended by a strong escort of 
armed men, sent with us by the chief's direction. We first pro- 
ceeded eastward up a narrow rocky vale, and then turning to the 
south, ascended by a winding road up a high ridge of crags. We 
past some villages with scanty spots of cultivation round them, and 
keeping high along the side of Taygetus came in about two hours to 
the verge of Christeia's territory. Here our escort left us, and a 
guard belonging to one of the chiefs of Vitulo took charge of us, and 
conducted us down the southern side of the promontory of Platsa to 
their master's, wnich is at two hours' distance. 



54 JOURNEY THROUGH MA1NA, 

The whole of this tract is as barren as possible. The mountain of 
Taygetus is a continuance of naked crags; the cultivation disappeared 
as we proceeded, and the coast which lay before us towards Cape 
Grosso, seemed more bare and savage than any we had passed. The 
villages seemed poorer, and the people less attentive to comforts and 
cleanliness from the extreme poverty of the country. Still in the 
scanty spots where vegetation could be produced at all, their industry 
was conspicuous. Not a tree or bush is seen. We found many 
specimens of variegated marble in the mountains, and passed by 
some ancient quarries. * We at last came to Vitulo, formerly GEty- 
los, a considerable town in this desolate country, built along a rocky 
precipice. Below it is a narrow deep creek, that winds inland from 
the sea, and is the haven to the town. A mountain torrent falls into 
it through a deep and gloomy glen that is barely wide enough to 
afford a passage for its waters. On the opposite rocks that bound this 
glen to the south is another village with a square Venetian fortress. 
Our guides conducted us through a street, filled with gazing crouds, 
to the house of a chief, to whom we brought letters of recommend- 
ation. We found the master of the house was absent, but were 
hospitably received by his family, and remained there until the 
next day. 

In the afternoon we examined the situation and environs of Vitulo 
for the remains of the ancient town of (Etylos. We found in the 
streets several massive foundations and large hewn stones still left, 
supporting the more slight buildings of modern times. We went 
to the church, which, in most places built on the situation of the 
old Grecian cities, contains the fragments of ancient architecture. 
We found there a beautifully fluted Ionic column of white marble, 
supporting a beam at one end of the aisle. To this beam the bells 
were hung. Three or four Ionic capitals were in the wall of the church, 
employed for building it together with common rough stone work. 



* For the quarries in Taygetus, see Strabo, lib. viii. 367. 



IN THE MOREA. 



55 



The volutes and ornaments were freely and beautifully executed : and 
different in some degree from any I have elsewhere seen. The cord 
which encircles the neck of the column is continued in a sort of bow- 
knot round the scroll of the volutes at each side of the capital, and is 
very freely carved. On the outside of the church are seen the found- 
ations of a temple, to which these ornaments in all probability 
belonged. 

CEtylos as well as Leuctra was, in the time of Pausanias, a city of 
the Eleuthero-Lacones, who possessed by virtue of a grant from 
Augustus some of the maritime towns of Laconia; of these, nine 
were on the promontory of Taygetus, to the south and west of 
Gythium, which also belonged to them. The names were Teuthrone, 
Las, Pyrrhichus, on the eastern side ; Csenepolis near the point of 
Taenarus (at Cape Grosso), CEtylos, Leuctra, Thalamae *, Alagonia, 
and Gerenia. The rest were beyond the Laconian gulph on the 
Malean promontory. Cardamyle, a city as ancient as the days of 
Homer, had, by Augustus, been taken from the Messenians and an- 
nexed to the dominion of Sparta. Gerenia appears to me to have 
been situated near Kitrees ; the small town of Alagonia and Tha- 
lamse are now lost among the numerous villages of the district. 
Leuctra, Cardamyle, and Pephnos, we were enabled to fix by un- 
doubted remains of antiquity, or coincidence of situation at Leutro, 
Cardamoula, and Platsa. CEtylos was at Vitulo, and the temple 
of which we found the remains was probably that of Serapis ; this, 
with a statue of Apollo, is mentioned by Pausanias as the objects 
most worthy of observation at CEtylos. -j - The name of this town is as 
ancient as the sera of Homer (Iliad, ii. 585), but in the dialect of the 
country the present pronunciation appears to have prevailed even in 
the time of Ptolemy the geographer, who enumerates Bitula among the 



* Meletius and the geographers who place Thalamaa at Calamata, forget that it was 
only eighty stadia from CEtylos, and consequently between Platsa and Vitulo. M. 

f Some formerly pronounced it Tylos ; lib. viii. Strabo : but they must have read the 
verse of Homer, kou o\ TuAov atx.<psveiJ.ovTO. 



56 



JOURNEY THROUGH MAINA, 



towns of Laconia, and as the Greeks pronounce the B like our V, the 
name given it by Ptolemy is the same with that now used, except the 
feminine termination.. 

We had been very desirous of pursuing our survey of Maina to 
Cape Matapan, and visiting the situation of the ancient Taenarus. 
We found that from Vitulo the rOad by land was impassable even for 
mules, and the country round Taenarus in so disturbed a state that 
none of the chiefs could undertake to conduct us thither in safety. 
There are, as we were told, considerable remains of an ancient city on 
Cape Grosso, agreeing, as far as we could ascertain the distances, 
with Pausanias' description of Csenepolis. Cape Matapan, theTaena- 
rian promontory, is south of Cape Grosso. Of the ancient cave and 
temples there we could get no consistent accounts. We abandoned 
with great reluctance our farther researches, and resolved to proceed 
from hence to Marathonisi, the modern capital of Maina. 

April 17. — We left Vitulo early in the morning attended by an 
escort of sixteen Mainiots, and proceeded eastward towards Maratho- 
nisi, leaving the sea-port behind us. A very steep and rugged road 
descends into the little glen below Vitulo, and continues winding 
along the banks of the torrent for several miles, shut in by rocky and 
wooded precipices. Emerging from these defiles we came to a more 
open and fertile tract of country, covered with groves of oak and a few 
scattered villages. The chief at whose house we had been at Vitulo 
was in one of these, and our guards gave him notice of our arrival by 
a discharge of all their rifles. Their salute was answered from the 
village by a similar discharge, and the Capitano issued immediately 
with about sixteen armed followers, and welcomed us in the plain. 
He then with this additional escort went forwards with us to Mara- 
thonisi. We had come about ten miles, and had nearly the same 
distance to proceed. The country grew more open and better culti- 
vated, as we approached the eastern shore of Maina. We came in 
about an hour within sight of the sea, and then in a north-east direc- 
tion pursued our journey through several villages, in one of which 
was a square Venetian fortress, until we arrived at Marathonisi. 



IN THE MOREA. 



57 



This town was the residence of the Bey, and the capital of Maina, 
though it consists of little more than a single street along the shore, 
in front of which is a small road-stead formed by the island of 
Marathonisi, the ancient Cranae of Homer. The Bey of Maina, 
Zanet Bey, had a large and strong castle within half a mile of the 
place, but received us at a house in the town, where he was resident 
at this time, with great kindness and cordiality. We found he was 
of a character more quiet and indolent than many of the subor- 
dinate chiefs we had visited. This, as Christeia told us, was the 
reason why they had chosen him in the room of Zanetachi Kutuphari, 
the more intelligent and enterprising chieftain of Kitrees. After an 
early dinner he retired to his siesta, and we went to view the situ- 
ation and ruins of the ancient Gythium, which stood a little to the 
north of the present town. 

What vestiges remain of Gythium appeared to me to be chiefly 
of Roman construction, and the buildings of earlier date are no longer 
traceable. The situation is now called Palasopolis, but no habitation is 
left upon it. The town has covered several low hills which terminate in 
rocks along the shore, on one of which we found a Greek inscription, 
but so defaced as to be nearly illegible. A salt stream that rises 
near the shore out of the rocks was probably the ancient fountain of 
iEsculapius. The temples and other monuments enumerated by Pau- 
sanias are now no more. Marble blocks and other remnants of anti- 
quity are still found occasionally by the peasants who cultivate the 
ground, and the pastures in the neighbourhood are even now famous 
for their cheeses, which were in the time of the Spartan government 
an article of trade much esteemed in the rest of Greece. 

The rock near the salt-springs which I have mentioned, is cut 
smooth, and marks remain in it of beams which, with the roof that 
they supported, have disappeared. There are two large tanks lined 
with stuccoed brick-work, once vaulted over, and cut in the rocky 
hill, divided by cross walls into two or three separate reservoirs, for 
the supply of water. Beyond these are two adjoining oblong build- 
ings of brick, with niches for urns, containing the ashes of the dead, 

i 



58 



JOURNEY THROUGH MAIN A, 



exactly similar to the Colombaia, now so well known in Italy. The 
doors at the end of the buildings are their only entrances. There are 
also near the shore ruins of baths, much like those of Thuria, but far 
less perfect ; on which, however, we found a scallop-shell ornament 
in stucco still remaining in one of the niches. There are other ruins 
on the shore, of which a part is now under water ; but a floor of 
Mosaic work may be still seen. Rubbish and old walls, many of 
which are of brick, cover great part of the ancient Gythium, but we 
sought in vain for the temples or any antiquities of value. 

April 18. — This day was spent in examining those parts of the old 
city which we had not previously visited. The island Cranae is rather 
to the south of Gythium ; and secured the port. It is low and flat, 
and at a distance of only a hundred yards from the shore. The ruined 
foundation of a temple supports at present a Greek chapel. 

April 19. — On this day we were to leave Maina, and proceed to 
Mistra by the vale of the Eurotas, through a country over which the 
Turks maintained a very unsettled government, and where the pro- 
tection of the Mainiots could avail us no longer. Desirous to 
render every assistance, the Bey gave us to the charge of five Albanians 
who were at Marathonisi, and who, having transacted their business 
there, were returning to Mistra. His boat conveyed us and our Alba- 
nian escort across the bay to the mouth of the Eurotas ; it flows here 
through marshes bounded by a rich and fertile plain, once the patri- 
mony of the unfortunate Helots, whose name it still retains. Our 
guides conducted us on foot to a village called Prinico, where we 
passed the night in a small cottage. Our Albanians, for reasons best 
known to themselves, retained the Bey's letter to the Greek Primate, 
of which we had no intelligence until the next morning. 

April 20. — We now discovered, what assuredly was not known to 
the Bey of Marathonisi, the very suspicious character of the guides to 
whom his confidence had entrusted us. We were so much in their 
power that we were involved by them in a thousand difficulties for 
procuring the horses to convey us forward, and had good reasons to 
suspect their intentions. What made our situation less secure was, 



IN THE MOREA. 



59 



that from hence until we arrived at Mistra the country was in the 
possession of the Bardouniots, a tribe of lawless vagabonds, whose vil- 
lages we must pass through, and against whom our only or at least 
our chief protection, was the strength of our party. We resolved not 
to stop again on the road, until we were securely lodged at Mistra ; a 
resolution in which we persevered, and to which we probably owed 
our safety, though our guides endeavoured repeatedly to frustrate our 
intention. In consequence of their conduct, it was noon when we 
left the village where we passed the night. We crossed the plains to 
Helos, called Helios in the corrupted language of the district, the rich 
but defenceless country of the ancient Helots. Soon after we came 
to the Eurotas, and continued along its banks through a beautiful 
and varied vale, in some parts so narrow as to resemble a defile, at 
others wide and fertile, abounding in woods and varied scenery, but 
every where rude and uncultivated, except a few fields immediately 
near the villages, where a scanty and negligent culture ill provided 
for the wants of the inhabitants. The villages are the habitations of 
Albanese peasants, and were dangerous to the traveller, as every crime 
was easy, and the people were in the habit of marauding with impu- 
nity. The plain and mountains were infested alternately by the 
roving Mainiots, and the Turkish or Albanese borderers, and we soon 
found that to oblige us to stop in some of the villages was the deter- 
mined wish of our guides. We resisted all their solicitations to that 
effect, and, though carried by their artifices by a circuitous route in 
order to persuade us that Mistra was more distant than in fact it was, 
yet we continued our journey until we arrived there in safety. 



( 60 ) 



REMARKS ILLUSTRATING PART OF THE PRECEDING JOURNAL. 

[EXTRACTED FROM THE LATE DR. SIBTHORP'S PAPERS.] 

April, 179.5. — Kutchuk Maina contains about one hundred and 
fifty houses. The town was surrounded by groves of mulberry 
trees, fenced in by the Indian fig, whose thorny coats form an im- 
penetrable fence. The Morea contains a number of fertile plains ; 
but this of Messenia* in richness of soil was superior to the rest. 
We were told in our evening conversation at the Aga's, that in 
certain spots it returned thirty-fold the seed that was sown ; that 
the peasant sometimes reaped two crops of corn in the same year ; 
and that the Calamboki, sown in May, when the wheat was cut, was 
reaped in August. 

Sunday, April 12. — I was awakened early by the cry of the Sacris- 
tan, K07ria<r£T£ hg Tvjv enxXycriw, which called up the whole village to 
celebrate the festival of the Paschal Lamb. I rose an hour before 
sun-rise, and accompanied the Consul to church, whence we proceed- 
ed, in order, to celebrate the service in the open air. " Christ is risen 
from the dead," was frequently repeated ; the tapers were raised, 
and the villagers crossed themselves with much devotion. The ser- 
vice being finished, a general salutation took place, the men kissed 
the men, the women, the women. The congregation, who had lan- 
guished with a long fast, felt with impatience the desire of animal 
food, and many withdrew to their rustic hearth to enjoy the feast of 



* The fertility of this district of the Morea is praised by the ancient Greeks: see Plu- 
tarch in Agesi. and Strabo's quotation from Euripides, in his account of Messenia. 



JOURNEY THROUGH MAINA, IN THE MOREA. Q\ 

the paschal lamb. So general is the sacrifice on this day, that no 
peasant is so poor, who does riot find the means of procuring a lamb. 

April 14. — Silk and figs are the chief objects of attention in the 
district of Kutchuk Maina ; wine, strong and well-flavoured, is also 
made there ; cotton, Indian corn and millet are cultivated. The silk- 
worm is fed on the leaves of the white mulberry tree, which is dis- 
tinguished from the black; the one is called JVW^xa, the other <rvxotp(via. 
The figs are sold in strings ; a string, vyj>iv\ consists of sixty figs ; and 
one thousand of these strings will sell for seventy piastres. Caprifi- 
cation is constantly practised ; without it the figs would fall off, and 
not ripen well. 

April 15. — We had a favourable passage from Calamata to Carda- 
moula, a distance of six leagues ; on our landing at the latter place, 
Panayotti, nephew of the chief who, by the popularity of his manners 
had gained the affections of his clan, came down with a number of his 
followers to receive us ; we were struck at the contrast of the figure of 
the Mainiots and the Greeks whom we had hitherto seen. The nature 
of man seemed here to recover its erect form ; we no longer observed 
the servility of mind and body which distinguishes the Greeks sub- 
jugated by the Turks. We were conducted by Panayotti to his 
tower-like castle; a narrow entrance and dark winding staircase 
brought us into a chamber which, from the form of its structure, and 
the loop-holes in its walls, was well calculated for defence on a sudden 
attack. Panayotti was acquainted with the vulgar names, and sup- 
posed medicinal virtues, and economical uses, of a great number of 
plants. I was, soon after my arrival, presented with a root ; the top, 
I was told, possessed the extraordinary power of acting as an emetic ; 
while the bottom was a cathartic. I immediately recognized the root 
of the Euphorbia Apios*, and found my Dioscorides illustrated. In 
our evening walk, we observed, among the corn, a quantity of Lolium, 



* The passage to which Dr. S. alludes is in the 4th Book, c. 177- We may add also 
the words of Pliny, " Aiunt superiorem partem ejus vomitione biles extrahere, inferiorem 
per alvum." Lib. xxvi. c. 8. 



62 



JOURNEY THROUGH MAINA, 



which our host eolled «<pa, and added that the seeds of it, when mixed 
with the corn, occasioned giddiness.* With the Lolium grew our 
orobanche, which he called from its destructive qualities ; he 

commended the flavor of it when young, and boiled as asparagus. 
The dry stony rocks of Cardamoula, exposed to the sea air, abounded 
with the wild thyme, the favorite food of the bees ; and, on our re- 
turn, we were served with a plate of honey, to which even that of 
Hymettus yielded in point of flavor and pureness, being of a trans- 
parent amber colour. We were served also with some (pctcrKcpyXicc, 
sage apples, the inflated tumor formed upon a species of sage, and 
the effect of the puncture of a cynips. 

April 16. — Panayotti had given notice to his followers of our in- 
tention to visit Mount Taygetus ; and having procured mules we set 
out, attended by him and an escort ; our road led us along a torrent- 
bed, walled in by stupendous masses of rock ; fragments of the cliff 
that had fallen from the precipice frequently interrupted our route. 
We consigned ourselves not without fear to our mules, while, with 
wonderful address, they stepped from rock to rock. We continued 
to wind along the torrent side, and were saluted with the fire of mus- 
ketry from the followers of Panayotti, who had collected above on 
parts of the mountain to secure our passage. We saw several occa- 
sional dwellings excavated in these rocks in situations almost inacces- 
sible, where the Mainiots concealed their property on the invasion of 
the Turks, or in their battles with each other. We had proceeded 
about six hours, and had advanced two-thirds of the way up the 
mountain, when we halted ; our guides agreed, that from the snow, 
and from the distance of the summit, it would be impossible to reach 
it and return to Cardamoula before night. The insecurity of the 
place and the early season of the year forbade us sleeping in the open 
air. I looked with feelings of disappointment towards the summit of 
Taygetus, and regretted the necessity of our return. I had collected 
several rock plants, and though we had reached the region of the 



* See the remark on Lolium T. in the list of the plants of Greece in this volume. 



IN THE MOREA. 



63 



Silver Fir, we were not sufficiently advanced to find those Alpine 
plants which the height of the summit promised. We dined under 
a rock, from whose side descended a purling spring among violets, 
primroses, and the starry hyacinth, mixed with black Satyrium, and 
different coloured Orches. The flowering ash hung from the sides of 
the mountain, under the shade of which bloomed saxifrages, and the 
snowy Isopyrum, with the Campanula Pyramidalis ; this latter plant 
is now called x^^^vi it yields abundance of a sweet milky fluid, and 
was said to promote a secretion of milk, a quality first attributed to it 
under the doctrine of signatures. Our guides made nosegays of the 
fragrant leaves of the Fraxinella ; the common nettle was not for- 
gotten as a pot herb, but the Imperatoria seemed to be the favorite 
sallad. Among the shrubs I noticed our gooseberry tree, and the 
Celtis Australis grew wild among the rocks. 

April 18. — The passage to Mistra was difficult from the craggy 
nature of the road, and dangerous from the robbers who infested the 
mountains. We were now on the confines of Panayotti's territory ; 
and it was thought advisable that we should take five of his men 
well armed, and five from the next captain. Our road was lengthened 
by the circumstance of a bridge which was broken down, and we 
were obliged to make a considerable detour; we had frequently 
occasion to alight and climb precipices, where our mules, with diffi- 
culty, followed us. The day was remarkably cold, and there had 
been a fall of snow while we were passing the ridge of the mountains. 
The sea pine, which grew here, had quite another appearance j it 
arrived at a large size, and, from the bark covered with lichens, the 
trees seemed of a great age. Vegetation was yet slowly advancing: 
the flowers of the vernal crocus, and the two-leaved squill were just 
appearing. I noticed the dried skeleton of the Morina Persica, and 
the Onopordum ; a Marrubium, and a fragrant Nepeta that I had found 
on Parnassus. Taygetus would afford a rich field of enquiry to the 
botanist, but the unsettled state of the country would not allow him 
to examine it with care. 



( 64 ) 



PARNASSUS, 

AND 

THE NEIGHBOURING DISTRICT. 

[FROM THE MANUSCRIPTS OF THE LATE DR. SIBTHORP.] 

Nov. 16. 1794. — We left Athens, and came by the usual road to the 
monastery of Daphne ; having passed it, an agreeable view opened 
through the defile into the Saronic gulf. We coasted along its shore, 
having on our right a salt-marsh, with pools and water-mills ; the 
marsh was covered with Salicornia herbacea, and different species of 
Tringae flew along the pools ; I shot the Tringa Erythropus. We 
advanced towards Eleusis ; when leaving the town about a mile on 
our left, we crossed over a rich and fertile plain towards the Cephis- 
sus ; we passed the bed of it, which was narrow and filled with stones, 
brought down by the winter torrents from the mountains. We 
entered into the forest of Sarando Potamo, and having traversed it 
for four hours arrived at Condoura. We passed through the defiles 
of the forest covered with Pinaster, wild olives, the Kermes oak, Phil- 
lyrea, and some carob trees. The village of Condoura is not 
unpleasantly situated on a rising hill, extending into a verdant valley, 
watered by a narrow stream flowing from the mountain. The houses, 
covered with pantiles, consist of a single room, with a door-way in 
the middle ; the area is divided into two parts, the one serves for the 
stable, the other, which rises a foot higher, is tenanted by the peasant 
and his family ; in the centre is the fire-place, the smoke passing 
through apertures made in the roof. This place is eight hours distant 
from Athens, and six from Thebes. 

Nov. 18. — We left Condoura in the morning, and ascending the 
mountain traversed some deep ravines, and crossed Cithseron, now 



PHOCIS. 65 

Elateas. We left the summit of the mountain, near which we dis- 
tinguished clumps of the silver fir EXan;, at the distance of about two 
hours ; and through a narrow pass, Commanded by the ruins of 
Gypto-chorio, descended, after a ride of three hours, into the fertile 
plains of Bceotia. In two hours more we arrive at Pyrgos, a small 
village situated on a rising ground, with the remains of an old tower, 
worked up with the ruins of Grecian buildings. About two miles to 
our left was Cocla, anciently Platsea; the soil, rich and light, was in 
many places turned up by the moles. Leaving Pyrgos, we advanced 
along the plain to Eremo-castro ; in our road we observed droves of 
pigs tearing up the ground for the roots of the Cuckow pint ( arum 
maculatum J, which was called by the swine-herd ^xkovtio. Flocks of 
sheep, whose fleeces were of remarkable blackness, were feeding in 
the plain ; the breed was considerably superior in beauty and size to 
that of Attica. It was almost evening when we ascended the hill of 
Eremo-castro, three hours distant from Pyrgos, passing some foun- 
tains, and a brook choked up with sedges. 

Nov. 19. — The morning view from Eremo-castro was particularly 
striking and picturesque ; the eye extended over a rich plain walled in 
by rough and lofty mountains, Cithseron, Helicon, and Parnassus, with 
its summit covered with snow ; as were also Olono and the higher 
tracts of land in the Peloponnesus. Descending from Thespise we pro- 
ceeded along the plain towards Livadea ; after an hour's ride we passed 
a small rivulet fringed with plane trees, and a village ; on our right 
was a marsh with the Lake Topoglias, the ancient Copais ; the 
greater portion of it overgrown with reeds ; the plain beyond was 
shut in by the high land above Talanda, and the ridge of rocky 
ground on the east coast of Boeotia. We saw a great number of vul- 
tures soaring over the mountains ; and the moor buzzard flew along 
the marshy tract of the Copais, pursuing the Scolopax, and other 
Grallae. Great quantities of Saccharum Ravennse grew by the road- 
side, and the peasants were employed in gathering it for covering their 
Callivia. After riding six hours we arrived at Livadea. 

K 



66 



CONTINENT OF GREECE. 



Nov. 20. — The river Hercyna flowed with a noisy course through 
stupendous rocks, whose fallen fragments often impeded its stream, 
and formed so many natural cascades ; in winter its torrent, swelled 
with rains, sometimes overflowed the bridge. Four species of fish 
are found at Livadea in the Hercyna; all, I suspect, of the genus 
Cyprinus ; in the morning two of these species were brought to us, 
one of which was called o-a^wjeoij/afo, the same with our chub ; the 
other 7ra(TKo(2ou<rot was distinguished by a dark golden stripe along the 
sides, and was a species of Cyprinus unknown to me. * 

We walked out to examine the town of Livadea. A grotto or rather 
a cavern was shown us as the grotto of Trophonius ; this, from the 
description of Pausanias, I should rather suppose to have been the 
place where the image of the god was kept. The suppliant proceeded 
to the grotto, which was probably a cavern in the rock above in the 
opposite side, where there is a Greek chapel. Near to this place we 
observed frequent stumps of laurel, probably remains of the wood 
which Pausanias describes as being under the grotto. The hole ex- 
cavated below the rock, where we suppose the image of the god to 
have been kept, was too shallow to have been the grotto ; near it are 
to be seen the two springs of Lethe and Mnemosyne : these contri- 
bute to swell the river Hercyna. 

June 28. — In the morning we ascended to the castle ; its state of 
defence arises from the natural situation. The cannon are dismantled, 
and the fortifications neglected. After dinner I walked out with a 
shepherd's boy to herborise ; my pastoral botanist surprised me not 
a little with his nomenclature ; I traced the names of Dioscorides 
and Theophrastus, corrupted, indeed, in some degree by pronunci- 
ation, and by the long series annorum which had elapsed since the 
time of these philosophers ; but many of them were unmutilated, and 
their virtues faithfully handed down in the oral traditions of the 



* The extracts which follow, are selected from a part of Dr. Sibthorp's Journals 
describing another visit to this district of Greece. 



PHOCIS. 



country. My shepherd boy returned to his fold not less satisfied 
with some Paras that I had given him than I was in rinding in such 
a rustic a repository of ancient science. 

June 29. — We set out from Livadea about ten o'clock. In the 
hedges on the side of the road we observed the Cotinus, the Mastic, 
the Terebinth, the Coronilla, the Colutea, the Spanish broom, the 
myrtle. On our leaving the plain, we gradually mounted into a wild 
rocky country. On our arrival at Arachova, some Greeks, who kept 
the guard, refused to admit us within their houses ; but on producing 
a letter from the Vaivode, they received us with much respect. 
Wandering parties of Albanians keep these villages in continual 
alarms. We slept in the guard-house, in the walls of which were 
loop-holes to repel sudden attacks. As we were here only four hours 
distant from the summit of Parnassus, we resolved to attempt the 
ascent. 

June 30. — At day-break we set out with four of our guides ; others 
soon joined us ; the ascent was at first easy, leading by a path which 
conducted us up the mountain without difficulty. Our guides stop- 
ped at a fountain in the outskirts of the town, crossed themselves 
with much devotion, and proceeded on with cheerfulness. After 
mounting somewhat more than an hour, we left the road, and 
scrambling over steep and rough precipices arrived at a patch of snow 
which had collected itself in the fissures of the rock. The summit of 
the mountain, naked and bare, was at a considerable distance. We 
reached with some difficulty a Mandra or goat-stall ; here we refreshed 
ourselves with milk, and our strength being recruited, we continued 
our ascent, and gained the summit. Below us extended a sheet of 
snow, on which I shot the Emberiza nivalis. I collected many 
curious plants on the sides of the precipices, though I found few 
which could be strictly called Alpine ; those of the highest region 
would only be regarded as Sub- Alpine. From the top of the moun- 
tain we commanded a most extensive view of the sea of Corinth, the 
mountains of the Morea on the one hand, and the fertile plains of 
Bceotia on the other; of Attica and the island of Eubcea. An eagle 

k 2 



68 



CONTINENT OF GREECE. 



hovered over us, and the Comix graculus, the Cornish chough, flew 
frequent among the rocks. Having dined on a roasted lamb, which 
we with difficulty had brought up to the summit, and drank our wine 
tempered in the crystallized snow, we descended, soon leaving the 
higher parts of* the mountain, into a forest of pine trees. We then 
entered upon the plain of Callidia ; the place consists of a few empty 
houses frequented only at certain seasons by armed Greeks, who 
come here to sow and reap their harvests. The corn was yet green, 
and promised them a thin and distant crop. 

July 1. — At two in the morning we struck our tent, and passing 
over the plain of Callidia, descended by the steep precipices of Del- 
phi. Our descent was difficult and dangerous ; we dismounted our 
horses, which, though accustomed to mountainous tracks, were unable 
from the rocky nature of the road to keep their feet. They fell fre- 
quently, and our baggage suffered considerable damage. We arrived 
in three hours, much fatigued, at the convent of Delphi. 

July 2. — The ruins of Delphi * are still sufficient to mark its site, 
placed on a rising ground, and screened by high cliffs to the north. 
The fountain of Castalia, excavated in a rock of marble, still exists, 
though choked up with weeds and stones. The only use the present 
Delphians, the inhabitants of Castri, draw from it, is to season their 
casks ; some barrels, with other rubbish, served to choke up and in- 
terrupt its source. Behind it were the remains of an arched passage, 
hollowed in the rock. The cleft, on the east side of which was the 
fountain, widened at its mouth, and rising to a considerable height, 
ended in two points. Above the fountain were the waters of Cas- 
sotis, which still murmured. On the rocks of Delphi I observed some 



* Some of the antiquities of Delphi arc described in the MS. of San Gallo, in the Bar- 
berini Library at Rome. " In Delphis civitate, ubi magna cx parte diruta sunt vetusta 
atque nobilissima mcenia, diversaque sunt arte architectorum conspicua; exinde collapsura 
undique rotundum Apollinis templum; et amphithcatrutn, juxta adtnirandum, magnorum 
lapidum gradibus xxxm. et in sublimi civitatis arce, altissimis sub rupibus ornatissimum 
gradibus marmoreis hippodromum dc. pedum longitudinis." Broken statues, inscriptions, 
and " rupes incisae arte mirabili," are mentioned. 



PHOCIS. 



69 



curious plants ; a new species of Daphne, which I have called Daphne 
Castaliensis, afforded me singular pleasure. Several birds, the Aves 
rupestres, inhabited these rocks j a species of Sitta different from the 
Europea, the Promethean vulture, the solitary sparrow, the sand mar- 
tin, the rock pigeon, a small species of hawk, called Kirkenasi, and 
numerous jackdaws. Having dined in the monastery, and drank some 
meagre wine, whose flavour was not heightened by a large admixture 
of tar, we left Delphi, and proceeded on our route to Distomo, five 
hours distant from Castri, and arrived at sun-set. 

July 3. — From Distomo we pursued our route to the monastery of 
St. Luke, where we arrived in little more than an hour. The Quercus 
coccifera abounds through the whole of this tract of country ; one 
of our guides brought me a coccus adhering to a small branch of the 
tree, which, squeezed between my fingers, gave out a most beautiful 
scarlet dye. The coccus generally deposits itself on the leaves and 
the branches of the oak, seldom on its fruit, as Pausanias affirms 
(lib. x.) In our way we passed through Stiris. The monastery of St. 
Luke has been styled the glory of Hellas, as a Gothic structure supe- 
rior to most of those that exist at present in Greece. It is greatly 
inferior to those magnificent piles of building, which the superstition 
of the early ages raised in the low countries. Chandler speaks of 
some curiously inlaid stones ; there were beautiful large slabs of 
Verd-antique, which still remain in the chapel ; we observed, also, 
in the gallery, large pieces of Phengites, probably the same men- 
tioned by Pliny, aptly disposed to favour the notion of miracles in a 
place of so much reputed sanctity as the monastery of St. Luke. 
This sanctity was not, however, sufficient to protect it from the 
plunder of the Albanians, who laid it under considerable contribu- 
tion. On mounting our horses we drank of the fountain which was 
in the court of the monastery ; this seems to have escaped the notice 
of Chandler, who asserts that the monks fetch their water from 
Stiris. We descended from the monastery of St. Luke over a rough 
and steep road, and by dangerous precipices, to a small monastery 



70 



CONTINENT OF GREECE. 



belonging to the convent,, near the sea, about an hour distant from 
the port of Asprospiti. 

July 4. — I engaged a small boat belonging to the monastery, with 
some Caloyers, to carry me to the islands of Didascalo and Ambelia, in 
the sea of Corinth, about ten miles distant from the bay of Asprospiti. 
In Didascalo there had been formerly a school. The whole island 
scarcely exceeded a mile in circumference, and was covered with 
ruins ; at present uninhabited, except by wild pigeons, the Hirundo 
Melba 5 and a large species of bat. Innumerable flights of the Melba 
almost darkened the air, and made the island their breeding place. 
We caught several of their young in the holes of the rocks. The 
Hirundo Melba, mentioned as rare by Linnaeus, is one of the most 
frequent species of the swallow tribe in Greece. I observed it flying 
over the summits of Parnassus. The Phoca vitulina we found sleep- 
ing within pistol-shot, but my gun not going off disappointed my 
hopes of shooting it. The skins of these seals, our Caloyers assured 
me, were sometimes sold for fifty piastres, a price much greater than 
they bear in the northern climates. The vegetable productions of 
the island were burnt and scorched by the sun. From Didascalo I 
went to Ambelia, about half a mile distant ; we discovered here no 
traces of ruins ; among the rocks flew immense flights of falcons, 
which pursued the large owl, Strix Bubo, with shrill piercing cries ; 
one of these falcons was shot : it proved to be the F. peregrinus of 
Linnaeus. I returned late to my companions ; we set off for Aspro- 
spiti, anciently Anticyra, and Distomo, but could discover no trace 
either of the black or white hellebore. The immediate environs of 
Asprospiti present a dry sun-burnt soil. The hellebores were pro- 
bably brought from the higher and colder regions of Parnassus, or 
cultivated by the physicians of Anticyra in gardens. 

July 5. — At six in the morning we departed for Liacoura, and 
mounted gradually towards Parnassus. After a ride of somewhat more 
than three hours, we arrived at the convent of Jerusalem. I wished 
to ascend Parnassus a second time, and taking with me two Caloyers, 
as my guides, I quitted the monastery, and then passed through a 



PHOCIS. 



71 



fine forest, composed of the Pinus Picea. In somewhat more than an 
hour I reached some snow, lying sheltered in the chasms of the rock. 
Several curious plants grew here. The approach of night, the dis- 
tance of the summit, and the apprehensions of banditti which alarmed 
my Caloyers, prevented me from proceeding further. I descended 
from the second summit, and reached the convent at sun-set. 

July 6. — > A monk of the cloister, famous for his knowledge in 
simples, arrived the preceding evening. I had been told of his repu- 
tation at Delphi. I walked out into the wood with him at day-break, 
a venerable octagenarian. I learnt from him more than one hundred 
names of the plants growing in the environs of the monastery; many 
of them were barbarous, yet most of them were significative ; some 
remained unaltered and uncorrupted, the ancient names of Theo- 
phrastus and Dioscorides. To all he attributed some medical virtue, 
some superstitious use. I regret much that the infirmities of his age 
would not permit me to carry him along with me to Livadea. I had 
offered rewards on my arrival at the convent for procuring different 
birds. A short time before my departure a Caloyer arrived, making 
a triumphant entrance, followed by two men supporting an immense 
vulture. I do not find it mentioned by Linnaeus, though frequent in 
the Greek mountains. It is called o^veo and Xvko^vso ; it measured, 
the wings expanded, from tip to tip eight feet, and from the tip of 
the beak to the extremity, of the tail three feet nine inches, and 
weighed nine okes, or twenty-two pounds and a half. 



In Dr. Sibthorp's Journals there is an account of his attempt to ascend 
Parnassus a third time. It is here inserted, being connected with 
some of the preceding remarks. 

Sept. 11. — Soon after day-break, with two Caloyers for my guides, 
I began my third ascent of Parnassus, and winding along the north- 



72 CONTINENT OF GREECE. 

east side, in about four hours reached a very high summit. A thick 
fog and very deep mist obscured our view. I saw now no snow, 
and was assured by the Caloyers that there was none at present on 
the mountains; the perennial snows, therefore, mentioned by Wheler 
and Chandler, are hyperbolical expressions. I had examined Par- 
nassus on every side, and found its vegetable productions very various. 
I met with several plants I had not noticed before on other parts of 
the mountains. The thick mist and severe cold prevented me from 
continuing long on the summit, and we descended over steep preci- 
pices and torrent beds, covered with loose stones, with danger and 
difficulty, down the east side of the mountain. 



( 73 ) 



OBSERVATIONS ON NATURAL HISTORY, 

RELATING 

TO PARTS OF GREECE, AND TO THE ISLAND OF CYPRUS. 
[FROM THE PAPERS OF THE LATE DR. SIBTHORP.] 

We had observed a small number of wild animals in Cyprus, but 
the heights of Parnassus, and the mountains of Hymettus and Pen- 
deli furnish a retreat to many, and considerably encrease the list of 
Grecian Mammalia. My enquiries were frequent, but the inaccessi- 
ble haunts of some of these animals, and the difficulty of procuring 
others, made it almost impossible for me to determine the number of 
species with precision. The domestic animals in Attica and Boeotia 
are the same as those in Cyprus, excepting the camel, which is not 
used in Greece; it is very common throughout Asia Minor. Pausania s 
mentions the bear as an inhabitant of Pendeli ; about three years 
since one was shot in the mountains of Parnassus, and brought to 
Aracova. The lynx, the wild cat, the wild boar, the wild goat, the 
stag, the roebuck, the badger, the martin, and squirrel, inhabit the 
steeper rocks of Parnassus, and the thick pine-forests above Callidia. 
The rough mountains about Marathon are frequented by wolves, foxes, 
and jackalls ; weasels are sometimes taken in the villages and out- 
houses ; hares are too numerous to be particularised. The mole 
burrows in the rich ground of Livadea*; the hedge-hog was brought 



* This passage does not agree with the remark of Aristotle, who says (lib. viii. c. 2/.)» 
" that there are no moles at Lebadea, but many about Orchomenus." On the other hand 
Antigonus C. (c. 10.), and the author De Mirabil. (c. 136.), and Stephanus Byz. in v. 
Kocco'vsia, say, that moles abound in Boeotia, but that they are not seen at Coronea, mak- 
ing no mention of Lebadea. See Schneider in Aris. H. A. viii. c. 27. 

L 



74 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



to me in the environs of Athens ; the amphibious otter is found in 
the rivers and marshes of Boeotia. The Phoca or sea-calf frequents 
the rocks of Didascalo, and Ambelia in the sea of Corinth ; and the 
porpoise is seen often on the coast of Attica. The small species 
of bat flutters about Athens late in the evening, and the larger 
species inhabits the caverns and holes of the rocks in the island of 
Didascalo. 

The nomenclature of the birds of Attica compared with the ancient 
names of Aristotle would prove a valuable commentary on . that 
author. The ornithologist who resided for some time at Athens 
would be enabled to clear up many of the obscure passages of that 
great naturalist; but he should remain there for a considerable 
period ; mark the migration of the different birds of passage ; the 
time of their arrival ; their disappearance ; note down the popular 
observations, and the different variations in their nomenclature. 
My catalogue is imperfect, but it is interesting, as being the only 
one that has ever been made of the Grecian birds ; it contains such 
as I saw myself, and some few of the existence of which I was 
assured upon the best authorities. Of the Accipitres, a large species 
of vulture, called by the Greeks o^veo, frequents the cliffs of Delphi, 
and the woods and precipices of Parnassus ; the smaller species, 
called Asproparos, I observed near Liacoura. Of the falcon tribe, 
I saw a large species, called by our guides Aetos, and probably the 
Falco Chrysaetos, soaring over the heights of Pendeli. The Falco 
lerax breeds in the islands of Didascalo and Ambelia in the sea of 
Corinth. The Falco Kirkenasi, half domestic, arrives early in the 
spring with the storks, in immense numbers, joint inhabitant with 
them of the houses and temples of the Athenians, and retires with 
these birds at the latter end of August. I observed a large grey 
hawk of the Buzzard kind on the plain of Marathon ; another 
species brown, with a white band on the wings, flying over the 
plain of Livadea ; and a small dark hawk skimming the ground near 
Cape Sunium. My short stay at this place not permitting me to 



GREECE. 



75 



procure specimens, I was unable to determine the species. Of the 
owls, the horned owl is rare ; I saw it in the island Ambelia ; and I 
heard it hoot among the rocks near Livadea ; it sometimes, though 
rarely, visits Athens: Dr. Chandler had kept one during his stay 
there, which he released on his leaving Athens ; he tells us, it was 
visited by the Athenians as a curiosity. The little owl, Strix passerina, 
is the most common species in Greece, and abounds in the neigh- 
bourhood of Athens. Three distinct species of Butcher-bird are 
frequent among the olive grounds ; the ash-coloured, the red-headed, 
and the small grey Butcher-bird. The two last species I do not find 
described by Linnaeus. 

Of the crow tribe, I observed the raven, the hooded crow, the 
jackdaw, the magpie, and the Cornish chough. The hooded crow 
which retires from England during the summer, is a constant in- 
habitant of Attica, and is probably that species noticed by the 
ancients under the name of y.o^vr. It is the word applied at 
present to it by the Greek peasants, who are the best commentators 
on the old naturalists. Linnaeus seems injudiciously to have applied 
it to the Carrion crow. Jackdaws abound at Athens, and are fre- 
quently seen flying round the Acropolis. The Cornish chough which 
generally confines itself to the mountainous parts of Greece, and in- 
habits the broken cliffs and caverns of Parnassus, sometimes descends 
into the plains ; we observed it under the eastern coast of Attica. 
The roller frequents the fruit gardens, and the outskirts of villages 
and the olive grounds. The cuckoo is heard early in the spring, but 
its season of calling was now past. The Sitta, which I regard as a 
new species, distinct from the Sitta Europaea was shot on the rocks 
at Delphi. I saw the king's fisher flying along the eastern coast of 
Greece in the gulph of Negropont. The Merops invited by the 
bee-hives of Hymettus appears about Athens, at the latter end of 
summer. The hoopoe which I also observed, is here a bird of 
passage. Of the duck tribe, various species visit the salt lakes, and 
shores of the coast of Attica during the winter ; these retire during 
the summer to more unfrequented fresh water lakes, and deep mo- 

l 2 



16 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



rasses to breed undisturbed. Tame geese, and ducks, are kept as 
domestic birds, but are not common. We shot two species of the 
storm-finch on the Saronic Gulph ; these we observed frequent on 
the wing flying along the iEgaean Sea, particularly when it was 
troubled. We noticed the common sea-gull, the common sea- 
swallow, and a smaller species, probably the Sterna minuta. 

The winter and the early spring would be the most proper season 
of the year for the naturalist to observe the different species of the 
Grecian grallas. Woodcocks, and snipes, I was informed, visited the 
neighbourhood of Athens during the winter in considerable quanti- 
ties. I heard the curlew and the red-shank cry along the marsh to 
the right of the Piraeus. The domestic stork, a privileged bird, 
arrives regularly at Athens, sometimes in the month of March, and 
leaves it when the young are able to support the fatigues of a long 
flight, about the middle of August. The purple and the grey heron 
frequent the marshes of Bceotia. We observed the long-legged 
plover near Marathon ; the grey plover and the sand plover on the 
eastern coast of Attica. Wheler makes mention of the Charadrius 
spinosus which he shot in Bceotia. Bustards, I was assured, visited 
the plain of Athens during the winter in abundance. Fowls are 
the most common species of poultry, and turkeys are also kept. 
The red-legged partridge abounds every where, and probably the 
grey might be found in the environs of Parnassus. I heard quails 
call, but could not learn the particular times of their migrations. 
Wild pigeons are frequent among the rocks. The turtle and the 
wood-pigeon are found in the woods and thickets. Among the larks, 
I observed the Crested-lark to be the most frequent species, with a 
small sort, probably the Alauda Campestris of Linnaeus. I saw the 
Alauda Calandra, but it was very rare, and a thin slender species near 
the sea coast, probably the Spinoletta of Linnaeus. Blackbirds fre- 
quent the olive grounds of Pendeli ; the solitary sparrow inhabits the 
cliffs of Delphi, and the song thrush is heard in the pine woods of 
Parnassus. Above these, where the heights of the mountain are 



GREECE. 77 

covered with snow, is seen the Emberiza Nivalis, inhabitant alike of 
the frozen Spitsbergen, and of the Grecian Alp. 

The bunting, the yellow-hammer, and a species of Emberiza nearly 
related to it, frequent the low bushes in the neighbourhood of corn 
fields. Of the Finch tribe, the sparrow is the most common species ; 
we observed the goldfinch and the linnet ; the Fringilla flaveola, 
which I had seen in Cyprus, is not unfrequent about Athens. Of 
the wagtail and slender-billed birds, the wheat-ear is the most ge- 
neral species throughout Greece, inhabitant equally of the highest 
mountains, and lowest plains. The white water-wagtail we found 
on the banks of rivulets, and still waters ; and the redstart near the 
shore on the eastern coast of Attica. Various are the species of 
Motacilla, confounded under the general name of Beccafica ; one 
species, which I take to be the true sort, I shot in the olive grounds 
of Pendeli ; another sort, somewhat larger, near Athens, and a small 
minute species often concealing itself among the bushes near Sunium. 
Of the swallow tribe I observed all the European species, except the 
Pratincola. The melba we found twittering in immense numbers over 
the island of Didascalo, where it lives with the large bat in the holes 
of the rocks. The sand martin burrows in the cliffs of Delphi ; the 
goat-sucker retains its ancient name, and still lies under the accu- 
sation brought against it by Aristotle of sucking the goats. 

CYPRUS. 

We find in Cyprus* a much smaller number of quadrupeds than 
we should expect from the size of the island. The domestic animals, 



* Dr. S. observed in Cyprus a custom which has prevailed in different parts of the East 
from the earliest times, and is mentioned by sacred and profane writers. " In the Greek 
village of Ipsera, five hours from Famagusta, the girls of the place, as a relief to their sun- 
burnt faces, had stained their eyelids. On inquiring respecting the nature of the process, 
I found that these village coquettes had used no more costly paint than lamp-black ; this, 
mixed with oil, was drawn through their eyelids on a small iron roller." See also Son- 
nini, p. 170. 



78 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



if we except the camel, are nearly the same as those of Crete, 
and the other Greek islands ; and its wild quadrupeds, when com- 
pared with the neighbouring coast of Asia, are very few. It possesses 
neither the lynx, nor the wolf, nor the jackall, inhabitants of the 
opposite shore of Caramania ; and the weasel tribe is totally wanting, 
of which we find some species in Crete. The wild boar inhabits 
Cape Gatto, and the Gazella, the higher parts of Mount * Troados. 
Hares are scarce, and seem to confine themselves to the mountainous 
tracts of the island. The hedge-hog, I was also informed, was an in- 
habitant. The large bat was mentioned, but I only found the common 
species. Asses, I heard on good authority, were found in a wild state 
at Carpaso, and that it was permitted to any person to hunt them ; 
but that, when caught, they were of little value, it being almost im- 
possible, from their natural obstinacy, to domesticate them. 

The naturalist, disappointed in finding so small a number of qua- 
drupeds, is surprised on observing the great variety of birds which 
migrate to Cyprus at different seasons of the year. The birds of the 
thrush tribe, inhabitants of the northern climates, visit it only during 
the depth of winter. At the first appearance of spring they retire to 
the higher mountains of Caramania, where, the snow preserving a 
constant humidity, they find food and a proper habitation. Great 



* A neoteric Greek, quoted by Du Cange, in the word ITc6ocr»;, says, " That the moun- 
tain Boukasa, which reaches to the foot of Troados, contains mines of gold." Mr. Haw- 
kins, in a letter answering a question sent to him by the editor respecting this passage, 
supposes the remark to be incorrect, and at variance with the more ancient authorities. 
" It is not probable," he says, " that the Phoenicians who possessed Cyprus, and opened 
their mines there, should have left those of gold undiscovered. I conceive the report 
might have originated in this manner; at the foot of Mount Troados, on the north, about 
half way to the sea coast, are some low hills bordering on the vale of Solea, where I found 
immense heaps of the scoria or slags of smelting furnaces. They occur in two places, 
Lefca and Skourgotisa, and appear to have been produced by the smelting of iron or of 
copper. The ore must have been dug higher up. The strata of Mount Troados consist 
of a kind of Trapp rock, a mixture of Hornblende and Feltspar, in which rocks, as far as 
my knowledge extends, no gold mines have been found in any part of the world." 



CYPRUS. 79 

numbers of Grallas pass over in the spring from Egypt and Syrian 
these retreat farther, in proportion as the salt pools near Larnica are 
evaporated by the sun. The Francolin and red partridge reside 
throughout the year ; the Pardalos * and the quail visit the island in 
the spring, and retire in the autumn. Immense flights of ortolans 
appear about the time of the vintage ; these are taken in great quan- 
tities, preserved in vinegar, and exported as an object of commerce. 
The swallow, the martin, the swift, the Melba, the Pratincola, which 
frequent in numbers the pools of Larnica, visit also the island in spring 
and leave it in the autumn. Those large birds which frequent the 
higher regions of Troados, called by the inhabitants Aero/, I should 
suppose from their flight to be a species of vulture. The Falco 
Tinnunculus breeds here, but the difficulty of procuring the birds of 
this tribe prevented me from ascertaining the number of species with 
more precision. The raven, the hooded crow, the jackdaw, the 
magpye, are common. The jay is found but rarely in the pine-woods 
of Troados. The little owl, though a nocturnal bird, flies frequently 
by day among the rocks. The great horned owl, which I did not see, 
is found in the mountainous parts of the island. The roller, the 
bee-bird, and the oriole are not uncommon ; and we often heard the 
hoopoe and the cuckow. I observed the rock-pigeon on the cliffs in 
the western extremity of the island ; the wood-pigeon and the turtle- 
dove in the groves of Bel-paese. The Calandra and the Crested-lark 
are the most common species of the lark tribe, and these inhabit the 
island probably throughout the year. The two species of Lanius 
confine themselves to the pine-woods with the black titmouse. Dif- 
ferent species of the Motacilla are confounded under the general 
name of Beccafica. Of the Fringilla tribe, the house-sparrow is the 
most numerous ; and the beautiful Scarthalis, perhaps the Fringilla 
flaveola of Linnasus, rivals the nightingale in the charms of its song, 



* " Near the Salines we shot a very rare bird of the Tetrao kind, Tetrao Alchata, called 
by the Greeks Pardalos." Sibthorp's MS. This bird is described in Russell's Aleppo, 
ii. 194. 



80 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



and is sometimes confounded with it under the general name of 
A'ySovi. Among the domestic birds, I observed a few turkeys in the 
convent of the Archangel ; geese and ducks are kept, but not in great 
numbers. Fowls and pigeons are the principal domestic birds. 
During my stay in the island, I used every possible means to procure 
its birds, and succeeded in obtaining the greater part of them. Of 
the rarer species of these my draftsman has taken drawings. I have 
been also fortunate in procuring most of the Greek names : but it is 
much to be regretted that Cyprus has hitherto wanted an ornitholo- 
gist, who being stationary here might observe with more exactness 
the migration of the different birds of the Levant. 

On observing the list of amphibia, we are surprised at finding the 
Testudo Caretta, mentioned by Linnaeus as an inhabitant of the West 
India islands, and no notice of the Testudo Aquatilis common through 
Greece and Asia Minor. The genus Coluber and Lacerta are both 
rich in the number of their species ; of these, fortunately for the 
island, the Kou<p< is the only venomous species. The black snake, 
whose colour is indeed suspicious, is perfectly harmless, and 1 was 
informed by the physician of Larnica, that among the country 
people it is even an object of affection ; that they suffer it to twist and 
twine itself in the hair round the heads of their children, as a remedy 
for the Tinea capitis.* I searched in vain for the Lacerta aurea, said 
by Linnaeus to be the inhabitant of Cyprus ; but I am perfectly con- 
vinced from a very attentive inquiry after the tribe, that it is not to be 
found in the island ; an inaccuracy in the information of the collectors 
must probably have led Linnaeus into this mistake. The Testudo 
Caretta is not only an inhabitant of the Cyprian sea, but is the most 
common species in the Mediterranean, and the Lacerta aurea is not 



* " The skin of a snake," says Sonnini, in his Travels in Egypt, " is worn in the tur- 
ban, as a preservative against diseases of the head." p. 681. " The Tinea is very common 
in parts of Syria; and as the natives are unwilling that the heads of girls should be shaved, 
these suffer more from it than the boys." Russell, ii. 304. 



CYPRUS. 



81 



an inhabitant of Cyprus, but of the south of France, Germany, and 
Italy. Of the six species of Coluber which we find in the island, I 
can scarcely refer any of them to the Linnsean species. 

The classical ichthyologist receives a particular pleasure from com- 
paring the modern Greek names of the Cyprian fishes, with those of 
Oppian, Aristotle, and other writers. The Scarus, which the Swedish 
naturalist affirms to be piscis hodie obscurus, is known to every Cyprian 
boy. Belon, guided by the Cretan fishermen, found it on the rocky 
shores of Crete. These fishermen are much better commentators on 
the Greek ichthyologists than their learned editors, who, by their un- 
fortunate conjectures, more frequently confuse than clear a doubtful 
text. The striking agreement of the modern Greek names with those 
of ancient Greece is no where so evident as in Cyprus. Here we 

still find the words Moppvpog, drj#3*ppffi crzoi^og, <ra,pyog, <rot\7rot) peXuvovpog, 

TrspKa,, cp<pog 9 and others precisely the ancient names of Oppian and 
Aristotle. They are very properly retained by Linnaeus for trivial 
names. The shores of Cyprus receive a great number of Mediterranean 
fishes ; some of these confine themselves to its rocks, and seldom 
emigrate into more northern latitudes. In river fish, it is, as we 
should expect to find it, deficient ; the rivulets, few in number, and 
inconsiderable in their size, generally dried up in summer, do not 
lead us to expect a large catalogue of river fish : and upon repeated 
inquiries I found that the eel was their only inhabitant. My list of 
Grecian fishes was already very considerable when I arrived at 
Cyprus; the market of Constantinople had furnished me with those 
of the Thracian Bosphorus and the sea of Marmora. I had still, how- 
ever, hopes- of discovering some other species in the more southern 
latitude of the Mediterranean. Cyprus did not deceive my expect- 
ation : I added several species of Labrus and Sparus to my collection ; 
among these the Labrus Cretensis, which, from its more vivid colours, 
and the superior elegance of its figure, carries off the palm of beauty 
from the L. Iulis, cited by Linnaeus as Europceorum facile pulcher- 
rimus, 

M 



82 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



The greater number of the Grecian islands have been examined by 
a botanist of the distinguished merit of Tournefort. Cyprus, from its 
situation and its size, gives us reason to expect a peculiarity as well 
as a variety in its vegetables ; and it is with surprise that we find an 
island so interesting in its natural productions has been little exa- 
mined. Hasselquist visited it on his return from Egypt, at a season 
of the year when its annual plants, which form the greater number of 
its vegetables, were burnt up by the summer sun ; and Pococke, a 
better antiquary than botanist, has given us only a scanty account of 
some of them. A view of its Flora, and comparison of the modern 
and popular uses of the plants with those of ancient Greece, gave me 
hopes in an island so near to Caramania, the native country of Diosco- 
rides, of ascertaining several of the more obscure plants of this author. 
My expectations have in some measure succeeded ; the modern 
names, though greatly corrupted, still retain sufficient resemblance 
to those of ancient Greece, to enable us to determine many plants 
with certainty ; and the superstitious and popular uses of many still 
remain the same. My inquiries were frequent among the Greek 
peasants, and the different priests whom we met. From the physi- 
cian of Larnica I collected some information relative to their medi- 
cal uses. 

I crossed the island in different directions. Cyprus, though pos- 
sessing several of the Egyptian and Syrian plants, yet, from the 
scarcity of water, the great heat of the sun, and the thin surface 
which covers the upper regions of the mountains, can scarcely be 
considered as rich in plants ; and when compared with Crete must 
appear even poor : the sides of whose mountains, those, for in- 
stance, of Ida and Sphakia, are watered with streams supplied from 
the perpetual snows that crown their summits. Notwithstanding the 
character of woody given to it by Strabo, when measured by a north- 
ern eye, accustomed to the extensive woods of oak and beech that we 
find in some parts of England, or the sombre pine-forests of Switzer- 
land, Cyprus appears to have little claim to the appellation of woody. 
The higher regions of Troados are covered with the Pinus Pinea ; this, 



CYPRUS. 



83 



mixed with the Ilex, and some trees scattered here and there in the 
valley below of the Quercus iEgilops, are the only trees that can be 
regarded as proper for timber. The carob, the olive, the Andrachne, 
the Terebinthus, the lentisc, the kermes oak, the Storax, the cypress, 
and oriental plane, furnish not only fuel in abundance for the inhabi- 
tants, but sufficient to supply, in some degree, those of Egypt. 



M 2 



( 84 ) 



ASIA MINOR. 

JOURNEY FROM PARIUM TO THE TROAD. — ASCENT TO THE SUMMIT OF 
IDA. — THE SALT SPRINGS OF TOUSLA. — RUINS OF ASSOS. 



CHAP. I, 

Libraries at Constantinople. — Departure from that city. — Sea of Marmora. — Cephus of the 
ancient Greeks. — Parium. — Lampsacus. — Dardanelles. 

An opinion had long been prevalent that the libraries in the palaces 
of the Grand Seignior, and in the city of Constantinople, contained 
some valuable Greek manuscripts which had escaped the destruction 
occasioned by the Turks in the year 1453. The imperial mosques 
there, particularly that of Saint Sophia, the libraries of the Patriarchs 
of the Eastern church, and of the Greek monasteries in the Levant, 
were also supposed to contain many curious inedited writings. This 
general belief of the existence of unexplored literary treasures in Tur- 
key induced the English government to appoint a person well versed 
in classical, biblical, and oriental literature, to accompany the Earl of 
Elgin's embassy to the Ottoman Porte in the year 1799. The plan 
originated with Mr. Pitt and the Bishop of Lincoln, who thought that 
an embassy sent at a time when Great Britain was on the most 
friendly terms with the Porte, would afford great facilities for ascer- 
taining how far these hopes of literary discovery were well founded. 
They trusted that the ambassador's influence would obtain permission 
for the transcription at least, if not for the acquisition of any unpub- 
lished work that might be found. 



ASIA MINOR. 85 

The Rev. Mr. Carlyle, Professor of Arabic in the University of 
Cambridge, was prevailed upon to engage in this service ; and the 
choice reflects great credit on the judgment of those who applied to 
a person so peculiarly qualified for the task. During our residence 
at Constantinople, Mr. Carlyle and myself visited all the monasteries 
of the Greek monks, or Caloyers, on the Princes' islands, in the sea 
of Marmora. Their names are Prinkipo, Chalke, Prote, Antigone, 
Oxia, Platia. The manuscripts in their libraries did not contain a 
single classical fragment ; but there were many copies on paper and 
vellum of different parts of the New Testament, written apparently 
about the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries ; the most beautiful of these 
we bought from the monks, who use printed books in the service of 
the church, and attach little value to their ancient manuscripts. These 
are now deposited in the Archbishop of Canterbury's library at 
Lambeth. 

In the collegiate-house belonging to the Greek Patriarch of Jeru- 
salem, who resides at Constantinople*, we found a very well fur- 
nished library, including a considerable number of manuscripts, the 
greater part of them on subjects connected with theology and eccle- 
siastical history ; but none of them of very high antiquity. There 
were also a few detached fragments of some of the Greek classics. 
The Patriarch behaved to us with the utmost liberality, not only 
sending one of his chaplains to assist us in making a catalogue of the 
library, but allowing us to take any of the manuscripts we might wish 
to send to England for the purpose of being examined and collated. 
Such as we thought interesting or curious were forwarded to London, 
along with those procured from the Princes' islands ; and they are now 
in the archiepiscopal library at Lambeth. 

We had some difficulties to overcome before admission could be 
obtained into the rooms attached to the mosque of Saint Sophia, the 



* Possevin, in his Apparatus sacer, T. 2. mentions some of the works in the libraries of 
the Patriarch, and in different parts of Constantinople. 



86 



ASIA MINOR. 



libraries in the Seraglio, and those belonging to the schools, mosques, 
and colleges of Dervises at Constantinople. The influence of Lord 
Elgin at length prevailed ; but in none of those vast collections of 
books was there a single classical fragment of a Greek Or Latin 
author, either original or translated. The volumes were in Arabic, 
Persian, or Turkish : and of all of them Mr. Carlyle took exact 
catalogues. 

The result of our labours previous to his taking a final leave of Con- 
stantinople was, that we examined every library within our reach 
which was likely to contain any valuable manuscript ; and that we 
sent to London twenty-seven codices of different parts of the New 
Testament, besides an Arabic and a Persian version. In addition to 
these, Mr. Carlyle procured a number of oriental manuscripts relating 
to history and poetry ; these, since his decease, have been purchased 
by the East India Company. It was among his favourite pursuits to 
collect authentic documents for a complete history of the Crusades ; 
and he also had it in contemplation to give a new version of the 
" Thousand and one Nights."* 

Mr. Carlyle's health had suffered so much during his residence in 
Turkey, that he would not venture alone upon a journey to Macedonia, 
in order to examine the libraries of the Greek convents on the penin- 
sula of Athos ; he requested, therefore, that Lord Elgin would allow 
me to accompany him. We preferred going by sea, as we might thus 
have an opportunity of visiting the plain of Troy, and the islands of 
Tenedos and Lemnos. We procured a firman or official permission 
from the Porte for travelling in Asia Minor and Greece, and a recom- 
mendatory letter from the Greek Patriarch to the Council of Deputies, 
who govern the religious community at Mount Athos. The arms on 



* The Arabic title is " Hakaiat Elf Leily wa Leily," Stories, a Thousand and one 
Nights. Dr. Russell, found at Aleppo two volumes; they contained only two hundred and 
eighty nights, but he procured a number of separate tales, some of which he thinks may 
possibly belong to the Elf Leily; and he remarks that many of those published at Edin- 
burgh in 1792, as a continuation of the Arabian Nights, were to be found in his collec- 
tion, i. 38C. 



ASIA MINOR. 87 

the seal were a spread eagle and imperial crown ; a sceptre and the 
keys of St. Peter, with the Patriarch's name, Neophytus, Patriarch of 
Constantinople. 

On the 3d of March, 1801, we quitted Constantinople, and passed, 
on the 4th, the island of Proconnesus *, now called Marmora, on 
account of its quarries of coarse greyish marble, of which a great 
quantity is sent in slabs and blocks to Constantinople for the pavement 
of mosques and baths, and for making tomb-stones. The quantity 
imported for this purpose from Marmora, and from the islands of the 
Archipelago, is incredible ; the cemeteries of the Turks, Greeks, 
Armenians, and Jews, round Constantinople, could now supply mar- 
ble for building a large city. But mosques and public baths and 
sepulchral monuments are the only objects that most of the inhabit- 
ants of Turkey think worthy of durable materials : the possession of 
private property is too precarious to induce them to build a solid 
house ; their residences are, in consequence, a kind of slight, but 
gaudily painted wooden barrack. 

The wind being against us, we beat about the entrance of the 
Hellespont, where we noticed a tumulus on the European shore; but 
making no progress for two days, we cast anchor in a small port on 
the Asiatic shore called Camaris. Here we landed and purchased 
some medals, those of silver having the letters nAPI round an antique 



* This place supplied the ancient Greeks with marble for their Sarcophagi; we find 
mention of a %opo; Tlpoxovvy{o-ioc, and dyysTov Ilpoxovvyo-iov, in Patin. 222. 

" Sept. 1794. — The marble is a white granulated species with greyish stripes, and is 
employed for the fountains, baths, and vases, which ornament the light and airy palaces of 
the Sultanas on the banks of the Bosphorus. I picked up on the coast of Marmora three 
sorts of sponges ; the common officinal one, the oculata, and another, which, from its dense 
texture, I shall call compacta. Our Greek sailors gave them the general name GTtovyya.fi. 
From the quantity I observed of the common sponge, I conceived a fishery might be esta- 
blished here with advantage. I saw only a few shells ; but picked up a stone cast on the 
shore, perforated by Pholades, and two or three sorts of Serpulae encrusted the rocks. 
Some Manks Puffins flew by the side of our vessel, which our sailors called xxpct$ ; I have 
no doubt the Cephus of the ancient Greeks, though Linnaeus makes it a species of Larus 
or gull." From Dr. Sibthorp's Journals. 



« 



gg ASIA MINOR. 

mask, and the copper the same abbreviation round an altar, on which 
incense is burning. As these were frequently found here, we were 
convinced that we were on the site of Parium, where Priapus had a 
temple raised to him, after his worship had been suppressed with 
ignominy at Lampsacus. The walls of this city, which fronted the 
sea, still remain, and are built of large blocks of squared marble with- 
out mortar. We saw ruins of an aqueduct, reservoirs for water, and 
the fallen architraves of a portico. There are also some subterranean 
buildings, whose arched roofs incline or dip from the horizontal 
level. As Ka^ap^ means both arch and aqueduct, we can be at no 
loss for the derivation of Camaris, the modern name of the town. 
The circuit of ancient Parium has been about four miles. The only 
inscriptions we found were built into the walls of the modern village, 
and are merely epitaphs of private individuals. We transcribe two 
of them : 

nOnAIOZ KAI KA AIOOANTHL 
KOINTOS rONETZIN* TAMEINONOS 
MNHMHS XAPIN XAIPE 

As the wind continued unfavourable for us, we took what articles 
we might want out of our ship, leaving an English servant on board 
to meet us with the remainder of our baggage at the Dardanelles. 
As this village would only furnish three horses for ourselves and our 
interpreter, we took the owner of one of them, as a guide, on foot, 
and were rejoiced at this opportunity, which unexpectedly presented 
itself, of viewing the shores of the Hellespont. 

We set out, March 6th, from Camaris, at about half-past twelve 
o'clock, and in a short time came to two ruined arches of an aqueduct, 
which had supplied Parium with water. Here a bridge crosses the 



* The Abbe Belley, in the 34th vol. of the Memoires de PAcademie des I. observes; 
Je nc me souviens pas d'avoir vu sur aucune inscription l'expression xa.) rolg yovevtrt ; elle 
est singuliere. P. 618. See Gruter's Thes. Append. 1127. 



ASIA MINOR. 



89 



rivulet ; the Turkish name of the stream is Satal Tepe Sou, or the 
river of Mount Satal. where it rises, about five hours distance up the 
country, and where our guide told us there were ruins. About three 
hours from Camaris we came to a rich plain called Coroo Dere, or 
the Dry Valley, and, after crossing a hill, another vale opened upon 
us. The season of spring was now commencing, and every patch of 
grass was covered with anemones of the most vivid hues^ scarlet, 
white, and blue ; these were intermixed with the crocus, asphodel, 
hyacinth, and purple orchis ; on the hills the variety of shrubs was 
very great. We saw the Arbutus Andrachne and Unedo, the sweet 
bay, the Hex, the wild olive ; many kinds of broom, heath, the Spina 
Christi, wild vine and clematis. 

Towards sun-set we reached a Turkish village called Jouragee. 
The almond trees scattered among the cottages were in full blossom 
Here we found that Lampsacus was too far off for our tired horses to 
reach it that night. The husband of a woman, whom we had accosted, 
was returning from wood-cutting ; he examined our appearance, and 
offered us the shelter of a hovel for ourselves and horses, which we were 
glad to accept. He then kindled a large wood fire in a corner of it, 
where there was a hole in the roof, and after partaking of our coffee, 
he gave us pipes and tobacco, and began to converse familiarly. Jou- 
ragee, he told us, contains sixty families, all Turks, each of them hav- 
ing a piece of land in the valley, and a few sheep and gOats on the 
mountains. At harvest time the Aga of the district sends a person 
to measure the produce of each farm, and to take the tenth ; the only 
fixed or permanent tax which a Turk pays in this part of Anatolia. 
The tribute belongs to the Sultan, who sells it to some Bey or Pasha 
of a province for a certain sum ; it is then farmed out to the Agas of 
smaller districts, who generally take it in kind. This tenth extends 
to all the fruits of the earth ; but that of corn is the only one rigidly 
exacted : a moderate composition is taken for fruit, pulse, and veget- 
ables, except by very sordid Agas. Our host complained of the war, 
in which the Sultan was then engaged with the French, saying that 
though his land did not produce above 120 bushels of wheat, and his 

N 



90 



ASIA MINOR. 



flock was but small, yet that he paid an extraordinary war-tax last 
year of 200 piastres (or 15/.) He then abused the corrupt govern- 
ment of the Porte, and said that the Turks themselves would not be 
sorry to see it overturned. He next complained of the excesses com- 
mitted by the troops on their route to the Vizier's camp in Syria, 
adding that whenever news came that they were on their road towards 
Jouragee, the wretched inhabitants run off to the mountains with 
their little property, and live in tents there, until the soldiers have 
passed. 

In one of the cottages we saw the fragment of a Greek inscription, 
and another on a small stone altar near it, now used as a block for 
mounting on horseback ; it informs us that Lucius Valerius Eutychus 
consecrated or erected it to the memory of his mother and daughter. 

As the accommodation for sleeping consisted only of a dirty mat 
and an uneven mud floor, we were not induced to pass a long night 
at Jouragee. We therefore set off at three o'clock in the morning 
by moon-light, and riding through extensive woods we again came 
to the shore of the Hellespont. On our road we met some caravans 
of loaded camels ; they were in strings of five, with an ass for the 
leader of each division. We now and then saw a sculptured turban, 
or a heap of earth without any head-stone, by the road-side ; these, 
our guide told us, marked the graves of travellers who had been mur- 
dered there, probably itinerant Jews or Greeks, about whose fate no 
inquiry was ever made by the Aga of the district. The face of the 
country was diversified with well wooded hills, and in every valley 
was a little glittering stream, meandering into the Hellespont. In a 
large plain, we saw the huts of the herdsmen, who breed great num- 
bers of camels here. At this season, the males of this quiet race of 
animals entirely change their character, and become so ferocious, that 
it requires all the care of the herdsmen to prevent them from tear- 
ing each other to pieces. At Smyrna, and other great towns in 
Anatolia, camel fights are among the favorite amusements of the 
people. 



ASIA MINOR. 



91 



At half-past nine we reached a Turkish village called Sarthaki. 
The porch of the mosque is supported by granite pillars, with marble 
capitals of different orders ; they appear to have originally belonged 
to some church of the lower Greek empire. At the public fountain 
we saw three granite sarcophagi, with inscriptions much defaced. 

We did not reach Lampsacus until eleven o'clock, though it is only 
six hours distant from Jouragee. On our arrival we went to the house 
of the Papas or Greek priest, where we breakfasted. We could not, 
however, avoid the intrusive curiosity of the Turks, and we had a per- 
petual succession of these troublesome visitors, who seemed glad to 
shew us how much the poor Greek priest stood in awe of them. 

On our going to the Bazar or market, some of them seemed dis- 
posed to insult us, but on our giving a few pieces of money to a 
begging dervise, they became more civil. An Armenian shopkeeper 
shewed us a small antique vase of ancient Greek, or, as some have 
called it, Etruscan workmanship ; he had also a few old copper medals, 
but he placed so high a value on his curiosities that we declined pur- 
chasing them. Vases, similar to that which he shewed us, were often 
found, he said, in old burial places in the neighbourhood. In Lamp- 
sacus we discovered not one ruin or vestige of ancient buildings. 
Its wine, once so celebrated, is now among the worst that is made in 
this part of Anatolia. The town contains a mixed population of 
Turks, Greeks, Armenians, and Jews, amounting to about five hun- 
dred and fifty families. 

At a quarter past twelve we resumed our journey. A river, called 
Chiergee, runs near Lampsacus, and two hours from thence we met 
another winding stream, which falls into the Hellespont at a point 
projecting very far towards the European coast. We then passed a 
village called Beergan, on the banks of this river. Its situation on 
a sloping hill, with clumps of trees left in picturesque spots round it, 
and a clear stream running in the valley, formed a very beautiful 
landscape. Indeed the whole of this shore furnishes a continual suc- 
cession of the richest scenery. 

n 2 



92 



ASIA MINOR. 



Four hours from Lampsacus, and about a mile from the coast, we 
saw the ruined wall of some ancient Greek town. The Turks call 
the spot Gangerlee ; we then crossed two rivulets, Yapoudak and 
Moosah ; one of these is the ancient Rhodius, and when we reached 
the fertile and picturesque vale of Karajouree, the promontory of 
Narla, on which Abydos once stood, came in view. After passing 
the Turkish village of Karadjo, we reached the town of the Darda- 
nelles about seven o'clock in the evening. 

Here we lodged at the house of Signbr Tarragona, a Jew, whose 
family has held the consulship of England for a long series of years. 
The Feast of the Passover had brought many members of it together. 
The Jews here, generally, marry at about eighteen years of age ; the 
girls at a much younger period of life. One of the wives in this 
family, who was in her eighteenth year, was already mother of three 
children. A daughter, only fourteen years old, had been some months 
married, and Rachel, the youngest, a beautiful girl of thirteen, had 
already, as her father told us, been asked in marriage by three 
suitors. 

The town of the Dardanelles is called by the Turks Chanak 
Kalesi, and by the Greeks, from the situation of the neighbouring 
forts, to, pe<ra KcZo-Tpa, The middle Castles, being about midway in the 
Hellespont. The only garrison we saw here consisted of three or 
four Topgees, or Turkish gunners, whose employment consists in re- 
turning the salutes of ships of war. The cannon, of which there are a 
great number, are on very clumsy carriages ; on the battlements are 
light field pieces. In the great battery are guns of various calibre, 
and those on a level with the water are enormous ; the bore of them 
is nearly three feet. We saw a pyramidal pile of granite shot for 
these huge cannon, which our Consul told us were cut out of columns 
found at Eski Stambol (ancient Constantinople), a name given by 
the Turks to Alexandria Troas. Instead of carriages, strong levers 
and pullies are used to work this massive artillery. At the Darda- 
nelles, there are about two thousand families, mostly Turks ; and as 



ASIA MINOR. 



93 



it is a place of some trade, the Jews have a quarter allotted them, 
containing about three hundred houses and a synagogue. 

Provisions of every kind are very plentiful in this neighbourhood ; 
but we observed that within the town the price of every article of 
food was double of what we had paid in our journey. This arose 
from the exactions of the governor, who exercises a monopoly on the 
corn and meal sold here. 

In Turkey most things are sold by weight, such as oil, wine, fruit, 
and corn. The oke is about 211b. avoirdupoise, or 400 drachms ; the 
cantar is 40 okes, nearly a hundred weight English ; and the kilo of 
grain is reckoned equivalent to an English bushel. The coins are 
paras and piastres ; a para is about the value of an English halfpenny ; 
40 paras make a piastre, which varies according to the exchange from 
Is. 6d. to Is. 8d. sterling. Having premised this, I may now be un- 
derstood when I mention the price of provisions. 

Wheat was at 100 paras per kilo at Gallipoli, a town nearly oppo- 
site to us; at the Dardanelles it was five piastres, almost eight shillings 
a bushel. Mutton had been also raised from 10 to 18 paras an oke, 
or from near 2d. per pound to 3 id. ; good red wine was six paras an 
oke, not 2id. a quart. 

We did not here discover any traces of the ancient town of Darda- 
nus, nor any antiquities, but what had been brought from the Troad 
by Jews in the hope of selling them to English travellers. Among 
these was a female statue from Chiblak, a few hours distant up the 
country. This I procured for Lord Elgin, in whose collection it 
now is. 



94 



ASIA MINOR. 



CHAP. II. 

Hellespont. — Sigean Inscription. — Tombs of Achilles and Ajax. — Camara Sou. — Inscrip- 
tion of the time of the Seleucidce. — Gheumbrek Sou. — Atche Keui. 

March 7.— -Before we commenced our tour of the Troad, we were 
formally introduced by our Hebrew Consul to Hadim Oglou the go- 
vernor of the Dardanelles j to whom it was necessary to exhibit our 
firman or passport. He received us in great state, and assured us, 
that he would give orders to render our excursion through his 
territory, as comfortable as it could be made to us. Hadim Oglou 
has not only the important command of the entrance of the Dar- 
danelles, but is also Pasha, and hereditary feudal chieftain of the 
whole district which we intended to explore. He is one of the 
richest individuals in Turkey ; for he not only has vast estates in the 
neighbourhood and the adjoining parts of Anatolia, but he receives 
enormous bribes from the Greek merchants, who carry on the 
commerce of these seas under the Russian flag, while the crews are 
Ottoman subjects ; as well as from Austrian, Ragusan, and other 
trading vessels, for conniving at their contraband exportation of 
wheat and other prohibited commodities. He however is subject, 
in his turn, to heavy contributions from the Capudan Pasha, who is 
not ignorant of the illicit traffic. Lately, in his expedition to 
Egypt, he anchored at the Dardanelles, where he not only made 
Hadim Oglou supply the whole Turkish fleet and transports with 
biscuit for their voyage, but levied a hundred purses on him, about 
4000/. Indeed the Capudan Pasha, in his annual cruise to collect 
the tribute of the isles of the Archipelago, uniformly honors 
Hadim Oglou with a visit to receive his homage, accompanied with 
a handsome present in sequins. But these are far from being the 
only drains from his coffers ; complaints frequently reach the Porte 
of his connivance at smuggling and of his monopolies ; he therefore 
finds it his interest to have regular spies at Constantinople, to give 



ASIA MINOR. 



95 



him early intelligence of any complaints against him ; and often, to 
preserve his wealth from confiscation and his neck from the bow- 
string, he is forced to send forty or fifty purses to some powerful 
favourite at court. And so corrupt is the administration of the 
Turkish exchequer, that instead of having an active and independent 
inspector of the customs at the Dardanelles to counteract the rapa- 
city and peculation of the governor, Hadim Oglou's son-in-law fills 
that office ; and thus he is left without any real or effective control. 

On presenting to him our firman, and a recommendatory letter 
which we had obtained from the Capudan Pasha, he not only gave 
us a bouyurdee or passport addressed to all the Beys and Agas of his 
province, but insisted on sending an officer of his guard to accompany 
us throughout our tour in the Troad. We hired a boat to take us 
to Gape Yenicher, for which we paid fifteen piastres ; the force of 
the current aided by a fresh northern breeze, carried us to that pro- 
montory in less than two hours; our boat glided so swiftly down the 
Hellespont, that we readily believed the Reis or master, when he 
assured us that the current which always sets from the Black sea 
and sea of Marmora into the Archipelago, runs uniformly at the rate 
of four miles an hour. This makes it impracticable for any ship to 
advance against it if the wind be from the north, and renders the 
communication between the Mediterranean and Constantinople by 
sea very precarious during the whole summer, as the Etesian or 
annual northern wind commences in May, and continues with little 
intermission or change until September. The strait here is about a 
mile and a half over. 

Both shores of the Hellespont at this spot are highly picturesque. 
The outline of the hills is bold ; they are well wooded, and the 
valleys which run far up into the country are as green as in England, 
while, as a back ground to the landscape, the isles of Imbros and 
Samothrace raise their snowy tops behind the Thracian Chersonesus. 
The first village we passed on the Asiatic coast was Cous-Keui, inha- 
bited solely by Turks; then Eet Guelmess, a Greek village, which 
our guide at first called Ghiour-Keui, or village of infidels, a name 



96 



ASIA MINOR. 



which we soon ascertained was indiscriminately given by Musulmans 
to such villages as contain no Turkish families. 

In order to give us a high idea of the strict and impartial police of 
the country, Mustapha, the new guide appointed by Hadim Oglou, 
told us that his lord had pursued a robber from this village to the 
top of the Adramyttian gulph,. where he took the culprit and had him 
bastinadoed, until the nails of his feet came out ; his ears were next 
cut off, and he would then have hanged him if intercession had not 
been made to send him to the galleys by the person robbed, who, our 
guide added, was a mere Ghiour, or infidel Christian. 

We next passed Ak Yar, or the White Stains, on the Asiatic shore ; 
they are abrupt limestone or chalk crags used by seamen as a land- 
mark to avoid a shoal or sunken rock in this part of the strait. On 
the opposite shore of the Thracian Chersonesus is a beautiful valley 
winding between the mountains ; it is clothed with the richest ver- 
dure, and abounds with trees of every shade. At the entrance of this 
valley is an Ayixtrpa, Ayasma, or Holy fountain, where the Greek 
Christians have built a small chapel ; to the water of this fountain 
they attribute a power of counteracting witchcraft, sorcery, and daemo- 
niacal possession, as well as healing certain diseases. A conical barrow 
near it is supposed to be the Cynossema or tomb of Hecuba. 

We now came close upon the Asiatic shore, where we observed 
another barrow of similar form, called by the Turks En Tepe, and 
by Chevalier, Morritt, and succeeding travellers considered as the 
sepulchre of Ajax. We then passed the fort of Coum-Kale, which is 
built on a projecting tongue of land, having the appearance of a 
sandy shoal, and which, it is supposed, was once covered by the 
waters of the Hellespont. About 200 paces to the N. E. of the fort 
is the embouchure of the river Mendere Sou, or Scamander, the 
broadest stream we had seen since leaving the sea of Marmora. We 
then passed two other tumuli or conical barrows very near the shore; 
they were called Theeo Tepe [Uo Tsvq) by our guide; they have been 
considered as the tombs of Achilles and Patroclus. The sun was nearly 
setting when wc reached the foot of Cape Yenicher,the ancient promon- 



ASIA MINOR. 97 

tory of Sigeum. The ascent was steep, but when we had mounted 
towards the top we had the gratification of a fine view of the plain 
of Troy, the winding course of the river through it, the island 
Tenedos beneath us ; Samothrace, and Imbros, and Lemnos on our 
right, with a faint view of the Pike of Mount Athos on the opposite 
continent in the fading distance of the horizon. * 

The objects now before our eyes, and of which we were about to 
take a nearer view, have been so often confronted with the scenery 
described in the Iliad or Odyssey ; the fountains, hillocks, streamlets, 
nay, almost every stone on the plain beneath us, have been so minutely 
appropriated to some circumstance of the Trojan war, that I shall 
confine myself to the humble task of recording a few incidents in our 
tour, marking the character or manners of the present inhabitants of 
the Troad, and shall rely on my learned and ingenious companion 
for a detailed examination of the natural features and the existing 
monuments of the country, with the view of ascertaining their relation 
to the description of local scenery in the poems of Homer. 

When my fellow-traveller and myself were permitted to land from 
the frigate which was taking the embassy to the Porte in 1799, the 
celebrated Sigean inscription and a fragment of exquisite sculpture were 
pointed out to us in the porch of the village. The first circumstance 
now mentioned to us by the Greek priest, in whose house we lodged, 
was the loss of these treasures, which, he said, had been carried off by 
a party of English soldiers from the Dardanelles (where they were 
employed in improving the forts), accompanied by their officers, and 
sanctioned by a Bouyurdee from Hadim Oglou, and an imperial fir- 
man from Constantinople, declaring that these marbles had been 
given by the Sultan to Lord Elgin, the English ambassador. The 
sighs and tears with which the Greek priest accompanied his story 
did not, however, arise from any veneration he bore to the antiquity 
of these marbles, from any knowledge of their remote history, or any 



* " Clare conspicitur Athos," says Vossius, " cum coelum est serenum, ex Hellesponto 
et Asiatico litore, multo autera clarius ex Ida monte." In Melam. 119. 

O 



> 



98 ASIA MINOR. 

supposed relation they bore to the tale of Troy divine, but because, 
as he told us, his flock had thus lost an infallible remedy for many 
obstinate maladies. To explain this, it may be necessary to mention, 
that during the winter and spring, a considerable part of the neigh- 
bouring plain is overflowed, thus afflicting the inhabitants with agues ; 
and such is the state of superstition at present among the Greek 
Christians, that when any disease becomes chronic, or beyond the 
reach of common remedies, it is attributed to daemoniacal possession. 
The Papas or priest is then called in to exorcise the patient, which he 
generally does in the porch of the church, by reading long portions of 
Scripture over the sufferer ; sometimes, indeed, the whole of the four 
gospels. In addition to this, at Yenicher, the custom was to roll the 
patient on the marble stone which contained the Sigean inscription, 
the characters of which never having been decyphered by any of their 
AJaVfcaXc, were supposed to contain a powerful charm. This prac- 
tice had, however, nearly obliterated the inscription. * 

Exorcism is still practised by the Greek priests of the shores of the 
Archipelago ; not only human beings, but cattle, silk-worms, and 
even houses are supposed by them to be liable to the baneful influ- 
ence of fascination, spells, and dsemoniacal possession. In one of their 
liturgies I saw a prayer to be used for counteracting the effect of a 
malicious glance on silk- worms, at the season of their spinning : and 
during our short stay at this village, I witnessed the ceremony of a 
priest with a censer and vessel of holy water, rendering, as he pre- 
tended, the threshold, windows, and chimney of a new-built cottage, 
impervious to evil spirits. 

We here bought some copper coins of the Ptolemies, and some 
smaller belonging to Alexandria Troas ; but we could not induce a 



* The stone is in the Elgin Collection of Marbles, and a copy of this singular document 
of Paleography may be seen in Chishull, Ant. Asiat. and in Chandler, Ins. An. The 
French letter of Bentley respecting the inscription, and the Delian Iambic, is in vol. ii. of 
the Acta Societatis Trajectinae, 6. 



ASIA MINOR. 



99 



peasant to sell a most beautiful little copper coin, containing on one 
side the full face of a female, and on the reverse two owls. 

The inhabitants of this village are all Christians of the Greek 
church, and appeared miserably poor and squalid ; and their curiosity 
was so obtrusive, that we almost wished for the tranquillity of a 
Turkish conac ; however, as I had made some progress in the verna- 
cular Greek of the Levant, I endeavoured to carrv on a little conver- 
sation without the aid of our interpreter, with the Papas, our host, 
and he became very communicative respecting his own history and 
situation. 

Yenicher or Ghiour-Keui, he told me, is divided into two parishes, 
of one of which he is officiating priest, his income amounting to 
about 350 piastres, or 261. sterling per annum ; out of which, how- 
ever, he was forced every year to pay about 150 piastres to his 
Bishop and Metropolitan. His fees were, for a christening, five 
paras, or twopence-halfpenny ; but weddings and funerals were better 
paid. For the latter he had seldom less than seven piastres, or half- 
a-guinea ; for which, however, he was bound to some scores of masses 
for the repose of the defuncts, and to consume a few wax-lights. 

The plain of Troy and its immediate vicinity he stated to produce 
annually from three to four thousand okes of wool, above 10,000 lbs. 
worth ; on an average, about twelve or fourteen paras an oke, nearly 
twopence-halfpenny per lb. avoirdupoise. Some cotton is grown in 
the neighbourhood, and when picked and dressed sells for about fifty 
to sixty paras an oke, or eleven-pence per lb. 

As we proposed to ride over the plain next morning, it was neces- 
sary to procure horses ; and here Mustapha began the exercise of his 
authority by putting four in requisition for us, but, as we observed the 
owners to be dissatisfied, we privately told them we would ourselves 
pay at the rate of two and a half piastres (four shillings) per day, for 
each horse, with which promise they were so satisfied, that instead 
of sending one boy to bring them back, each owner agreed to ac- 
company his horse, and to act as a guide. 

o 2 



100 



ASIA MINOR. 



The first place where we halted on our route from Sigeum to the 
Rhoetean promontory, was at the two conical mounds, barrows, or 
hillocks, called the tumuli of Achilles and Patroclus r which we had 
anxiously viewed on our voyage to Constantinople, fearing we might 
not have this opportunity of examining them with leisure. Our guides 
concurred in calling them tee £uo tz-jty ; , the two mounds. 

In 1787, M. Choiseul Gouffier, ambassador from France, hired 
persons to open that which is called Achilles' tomb ; but the work 
was not carried so deep, as even to the surface of the ground on 
which the tumulus is raised. The remains of antiquity discovered 
there, proved to be, as M. Fauval himself assured me, one of those 
Egyptian idols of bronze so common in the times of the Ptolemies, 
and found frequently in the vicinity of Alexandria, having the 
m odium or symbol of abundance on its head, and the feet placed on 
two horses, and a sphinx on each shoulder. 

The excavation appears to have been carried on not more than one 
third of the perpendicular depth of the tumulus ; the opening is 
about five or six feet in diameter ; on one side of the excavation and 
near the top, I observed a squared block of marble in a kind of 
wall ; this with some difficulty I raised ; and on the side which had 
been concealed in the earth 1 observed an inscription in Greek 
letters ; but on examining it, I was disappointed in finding it con- 
tained only a short epitaph, the letters, according to their form being 
of no high antiquity. 

EPOKAEA 
ETKTOT 
XAIPE 

Heroclea, or Hieroclea, wife or daughter of Lucius, Farewel. It 
was brought away, and given to the Earl of Elgin. 

In a field near the base of this tumulus is a slab of white marble, 
on which are sculptured two wreaths of laurel or olive, but it does 
not bear any inscription. The spot is a Jewish cemetery. 



ASIA MINOR. 



101 



Proceeding towards En Tepe at the Rhcetean promontory we crossed 
a river near the fort of Coum Kale, -which our Turkish guide called 
Mendere Sou, and the Greeks Scamander. The wooden bridge over 
it was a hundred paces long ; and the river itself, in comparison of 
the other streams that fall into the Hellespont, may be called 
broad and rapid. And here I cannot help remarking, that the 
Hellespont itself having the appearance of a large river, carrying its 
waters into the iEgaean sea, well merits the epithet of rrXarvg given 
to it by Homer ; for though considered as a sea, it is indeed narrow ; 
yet as a tributary stream of the iEgsean, it may be called the broad 
Hellespont.* The tomb of Patroclus, near that of Achilles, and 
close to the road, has never been opened. It is supposed to be a 
cenotaph raised to his memory, as his ashes were inclosed in the 
same urn which held those of Achilles, and deposited in the same 
tumulus. 

About four miles and a half from Yenicher or Sigeum, we arrived 
at a lofty barrow, called En Tepe, the supposed tumulus of Ajax. 
Before we reached it, we had crossed Camara Sou, and a salt-marsh. 
Our guides told us that some years ago the Turks had dug into the 
tomb, and taken out a great quantity of stones, with which they 
had made the present causeway through some oozy ground and salt 
marshes near it ; one of these ponds is called Tous-Lazma, and the 
other En Tepe Lazma : to which they told us the sea sometimes 
reaches. This may help to confirm the opinion of those who believe 
that the waves of the Hellespont may have washed the base of this 
tumulus, subsequently to the Trojan war. To us, I confess, the 
ground appeared to rise gently and gradually to the base of En Tepe, 
so that the foundation of building in it, is probably near a hundred 
feet above the level of the adjoining plain, and the edge of the 
present shore of the Hellespont. The tumulus is raised to about 
twenty feet above that height, so that there is some difficulty in 



* Herodotus calls it a river, lib. vii. c. 35. 



102 



ASIA MINOR. 



applying the account given by Pausanias in his first book to this 
tumulus. He there tells us, that an inhabitant of Mysia had in- 
formed him, that the sea, breaking into the tomb of Ajax on the 
side next the shore, made the entrance into it not difficult to any 
one who wished to view the gigantic remains of that hero. 

The stones of which the internal building is formed are not squared 
or chiselled, and great masses of them roughly cemented with mortar, 
still adhering together, incumber the inner chamber or vault. The 
entrance into it in the side of the tumulus is about five feet in height, 
five feet broad, and the passage about six feet long, before it termi- 
nates in the vault which is lower and narrower. My fellow-traveller 
was extremely sceptical on the appropriation of this mound to the 
sepulchre of Ajax. 

From the top of this tumulus we had a good view of the whole 
line of coast, and of the Scamandrian plain, called by our guides, 
Mendere Sou Deresi, the valley of the Mender ; two ridges of hills, 
one terminating at this point (Rhceteum), and the other at Yenicher 
(Sigeum) bound it ; the breadth here is about four miles. 

We had thus in a few short hours enjoyed the satisfaction of 
visiting the two extremities of the naval station of the Greeks, 
explored the tombs of Achilles, Patroclus, and Ajax, and crossed the 
Scamander. 

We now descended to the base of that ridge of hills which ter- 
minates at En Tepe, and soon came once more to the little mean- 
dering stream, Camara Sou, or the river of the Aqueduct. We 
crossed it by a small bridge, and proceeded to the village of Coum 
Keui, the sandy village, about two miles south of En Tepe. Very 
near the village are extensive ruins of ancient public buildings 
scattered over the plain ; they are probably on the site of Ilium. 
The columns now fallen and broken are deeply fluted, and of the 
Ionic and Corinthian orders, generally about three feet and a half in 
diameter. 

In the house of a Turk of this village I found a Greek inscription 
on a block of marble ; the letters were very small, and without any 



ASIA MINOR. 



103 



separation between the words. I bought it for Lord Elgin, in whose 
possession it now is. It is hot complete, having been broken and 
defaced towards the conclusion. The following is the copy I took on 
the spot. It is a decree in honour of Metrodorus a physician, for 
having healed a wound in the neck received by King Antiochus in 
battle, and it assigns him certain privileges and honours for this 
service as well as others performed to the Kings Antiochus and 
Seleucus, and to the town. Unfortunately for the topography of 
this part of the Troad, it does not mention the name of the city. 

EnEIAH,0,BA2lAET%ANTIOX02,EriES 1 

TAAKEN,OTI,TPATMATIA2,rENOMENOS, 

EN,THI,MAXHI,El2,TON,TPAXHAON, 

©EPAI1EY0 . .,TnO,MHTPOAi2POT,TOT, 

IATPOT,AKINATNOS,EriE2TAAKEN, 5 

ITEPIjEATTOTjKAIjMEAEArPOSjOjSTPA. 

THr02,nPOOPi2MEN02,TO,THS,nO 

AE122,STM4>EPON,AEAOX0AI,THI,BOTAHI, 

KAI,Tm,AHMm,EnAINE2AI,MEN, 

MHTPOAX2PON,TIMOKAEOTS,AM4>. 10 
E . . ITHN, APETH 2, ENE KE NT, K AI, 
ETN0IA2,TH2,EI2,T0T2,BA2IAEI2, 
ANTIOXON,KAI,2EAETKON,KAI,TON, 
AHMONjEINAI^AEjATTONjKAI^nPOHE 

NON,KAI,ETEPrETHN,TH2,nOAEI22, • 15 

AEAOSQAIjA.ATTOIjKAIjnOAlTEIAN, 

KAI,KTH2lN,KAI,E<50AON,EnijTHN, 

BOTAHN, KA1,T0N, AHMON,iTPIlTON, 

META^AjIEPAjEHEINAIjAjATTiUjKAI 

EIS^TAHNjKAI^PATPIAN^HNjANjBOY 20 
AHTAI. * 

About three miles and a half to the east of Coum Keui, we found 
an extensive Turkish cemetery, with ruins of a mosque, the minaret 
of which was still standing. It belongs to the adjoining village of 



* See the latter part of the volume, where an explanation of this and other Greek 
inscriptions is given. 



104 



ASIA MINOR. 



Chali-Leui. * The sepulchral stones erected over the Mussulman 
graves were fragments of columns, capitals, and frizes of temples. 
The ground they occupied was about 260 paces in diameter ; but we 
could not trace the plan or foundations of any Greek or Roman 
buildings. The columns were of white marble fluted, about two 
feet six inches in diameter ; some capitals were of the Ionic, and 
some of the Corinthian order ; the triglyphs shewed that there had 
been buildings in the Doric style ; one mutilated and defaced bas- 
relief represents a female figure in a conch-shaped chariot drawn by 
tritons ; on another fragment is a winged victory in a car ; on part of 
an entablature is a female figure with wings supporting festoons or 
flowers. There were other remains of sculpture, but so much defaced 
as to make it very difficult to discover the subject represented. They 
have all undoubtedly belonged to the towns of New Ilium, as may 
be collected from the following inscriptions : — 

1- 3. 

1AIEI2T0N HnAN0m2#TAH 
TIATPION ©EON EHTON10TAlON*IA 
AINEIAN ONKO^MONTHSnOA 

EliSEIIAPXONSnEIPHS 
^ABIANH^rTMNASlAPX 
2. H2ANTAAAMIIP&2KAI 
01 NEOI 4>IAOTIMi22KAIl7PnTON 
TONITMN A2 1 APXON Ti2NAnAIi2N02KAIMEXPl 
ASKAArmNAKAAAIII NTNMONONEAAIOMETPHSA 
nOTXPHMATlSAN. . NTATOT2TEBOTAETTAS 

KAinOAEITA^nANTASKAI t 

AAEI*ANTAEKAOTTHPi2N 

ITANAHMEI 

About a mile and a half south-west of these ruins of Chali-Leui is 
the village of Chiblak. In the court-yard of the mosque and in the 



* " The numerous architectural fragments observed near Halil Eli and Tchiblak, have 
been brought there to mark the graves in a Turkish burial-ground, for I could discover 
no foundations of buildings at either spot." Mr. Hawkins. 

f L. 12. dXeltyuvTa. rrjv noXiv occurs in an inscription found at Lampsacus, see Mis. Obs. 
T. 3. 201. Respecting the office of the Aliptae, see Van Dale's Dissertation. 



ASIA MINOR. 



105 



walls of some cottages, we observed fragments of architectural orna- 
ments in marble, and a number of broken capitals and shafts of 
columns in the cemetery. 

About a mile to the south-east of this place is a very ancient Turkish 
burial-ground, filled with scattered ruins of a temple. Many in- 
scribed marbles may be seen there. Among them we found the 
following words : * 

% 

. . . PASA TH errATPi KE eatth ke to,.. . . 

From Chali-Leui we reached Gheumbrek Sou, which falls into 
Camara Sou ; we crossed the former, and in an hour's time ar- 
rived at the village Gheumbrek. The valley through which the 
Camara and Gheumbrek Sou run, is supposed to be the vale of 
Thymbra ; it is bounded by gently swelling knolls, and abounds with 
beautiful shrubs. 

The village of Gheumbrek is four miles from Chali-Leui, and near 
it is a gloomy grove of tall pines, to which we were taken by the 
peasants to see the ruins of an ancient building. It appeared to us 
to be the remains of a small Doric temple ; but there is not a frag- 
ment of inscription or ornamental sculpture to indicate the period of 
its erection, or the name of the deity to whom it had been con- 
secrated. 

Here we were told of extensive ruins to be seen at a distance of 
about four or five miles, and which, to raise our curiosity or to gain 
higher pay for a guide, we were assured no traveller had ever visited. 
Winding between the mountains in a southerly direction, in about an 
hour and a half we came to ruins scattered among bushes and under- 
wood, at a place called Palaio Atche Keui. On our road, Mustapha, 
who had now entered in some degree into the objects of our research, 
with great delight took us to a block of marble he had discovered 



* A similar mode of writing the E for AI is observable in other instances ; see the re- 
marks at the end of the volume relating to some Greek inscriptions. We read in one, 
voij.i7jj.oL Ts sTfla-rifLOv %pv<row xs upyvpovv y.e srefict x<rfjfj.u. 



106 



ASIA MINOR. 



with a Greek inscription on it : it had been the pedestal of a statue 
to Agrippa. 

MAPKON ArPinnAN TON 2TNTENEA 
KAI I1ATP&NA TH2 nOAEflS KAI 
ETEPrETHN Eni TH IIPOS THN ©EON 
ETSEBEIA KAI EIII TH nPOS TONAHMON 
ETNOIA. 

Near this inscription is the statue of a female in a sitting posture ; 
a robe is thrown gracefully over the left knee, and a zone is closely 
clasped beneath the breasts. On each side of the chair is represented 
a lion resting on his haunches. A great number of broken inscrip- 
tions of different ages is scattered around. The most striking object 
is part of the arch of a portico formed of large blocks of marble, on 
which are three garlands of olive with inscriptions in each : OI NEOI 
in one; in another OAHMOS O MTTIAHNAIflN j in a third, the 
words are not all of them discernible : but we saw IAIfl PX1MAIX1N. 
Within the arch was written AnOAAXlNOS TOT IAIEO£ EPMOK- 
PATO . . Another fragment contains the name of Minerva 
THA6HNAI. 



CHAP. III. 

Aqueduct at Camara-Sou. — Bounarbashi. — Extract from Sibthorp's Journal. — Erie . — 
Bairamitche. — Source and Cascade of the Mender. — Summit of Ida. 

We now proceeded in a north-east direction, and came once more to 
the banks of the Camara-Sou, which are here very bold and pictu- 
resque. We found an ancient aqueduct, crossing the river, at a con- 
siderable height above its bed. Though much injured by time it is 
still so striking an object as to give the name of the " Aqueduct 
river" to the stream that runs beneath it. The principal arch is 



ASIA MINOR, 107 

about thirty-five feet in diameter, and is yet entire; this spot is about 
three miles from Palaio Atche Keui, where are the ruins of the temple 
of Apollo of Ilium. The rocky bed in which the river here runs, its 
bold abrupt banks thus united by a lofty arched aqueduct, and crowned 
with wood, form a striking scene, which I regretted my want of power 
to sketch. 

After remaining some time to admire the beauty of this spot, we 
returned to Palaio Atche Keui, having heard from our guides that 
there were more ruins of ancient buildings within a mile of those we 
had just seen. But we found merely a Turkish cemetery, to which 
some ancient fragments had been taken to be employed as tomb- 
stones. One of the marble slabs, however, we found contained a 
Greek inscription in hexameter and pentameter verses, and we de- 
cyphered the following words : 

TIKTE TEXNA TON API5T0NA 

MTNTOPA nATPIAOS A1H2 

OION ZET2 I2P2EN OION OMHPO^E<t>T 

We now set out for Bounarbashi, where we were to halt for the 
night, and going in a south-westerly direction, we passed three 
tumuli, to which our guides gave the names of Mai Tepe, Asar- 
lack Tepe, and Khaina Tepe ; Asarlack Tepe, near the village of New 
Atche Keui, is of much larger dimensions than the others ; it ap- 
peared about thirty feet high, flat at top, where it is about one hundred 
feet across. It is in the form of a truncated cone. 

When we had proceeded about three miles and a half from Atche 
Keui, we again reached the Mendere Sou, on that broad river which 
intersects the plain of Troy. We found it here very wide, though 
not so deep as to prevent our fording it on horseback. This river our 
guides called Mendere and Scamandros, and they here told us that its 
source was in the snow-covered mountain of Kaz-Dag, which, accord- 
ing to their computation, was three days' journey from us, probably 
about sixty miles : they also said that the Camara Sou had it source 
in that lofty mountain. At about a mile from the ford of the Men- 
dere Sou, we came to the village of Bounarbashi. It is elvated 

p 2 



108 



ASIA MINOR. 



considerably above the plain, and is about twelve miles from Yenicher,. 
and at least nine miles from the nearest point of the Hellespont. 
We here took up our lodging at a Tchiflick or farm-house belonging 
to Hadim Oglou. 

To the E. N. E. of this spot the ground rises during a distance of 
a mile and a half ; we then reached the summit of a hill, the surface 
of which is almost flat. It has been called the Acropolis of Troy. 
On our road we did not discover the foundation or traces of any 
ancient building, or even a hewn stone or fragment of pottery to 
mark the site of former habitations. This high land or table-hill is 
about a mile in circumference, is of an oblong form, in length 650 
paces, its mean breadth about 250. We noticed three barrows or 
conical mounds upon it ; these our guides called Balah Tepe. One 
at the north-western boundary, now named Hector's tomb, is a heap 
of rough stones thrown confusedly together, as if they had been dug 
from the neighbouring quarry, and were placed in a heap to be ready 
for use. Close to it are foundations of walls ; the masonry is rough, 
and about seven feet thick ; the building, of which they mark the 
ground-plan, has not been of regular figure, but accommodated to 
the uneven surface of the rock. Its mean diameter is about forty 
paces. On digging among these foundations we found both tiles and 
mortar. About 120 paces from this heap or mound, is a second 
called by recent topographers the Tumulus of Priam. Remains of 
building appear on the top, as if an altar or some little chapel or 
shrine had been placed there, the foundation being about eight feet 
in diameter. 

Continuing in the same line, we came to a rocky hillock, which we 
mounted, and found it flat or levelled at the summit ; on this the 
keep or fortress of the citadel most probably was built. The position 
is altogether very strong ; it is bounded by abrupt and nearly perpen- 
dicular cliffs and precipices. On looking down to the distant plain, 
we saw the river Mendere Sou, broad and rapid, nearly surrounding 
the base of this acropolis or Pergamus, and almost making it an 
island. The meanderings of the river as seen from this height ap- 



ASIA MlrtOR. 



109 



peared very numerous. It often turns back on its former course, so 
as to intersect the valley in various directions. Hound the whole 
boundary of this flat space on the top of the hill, may be traced re- 
mains of walls, with heaps of stones at intervals, indicating probably 
the spots where towers had been raised. There are also some exca- 
vations, like quarries, whence the stones may have been dug ; one of 
these near the first barrow is very deep ; the marks of the pick-axe 
are discernible ; many wild fig-trees grow out of its clefts. 

About a quarter of a mile below the village of Bounarbashi, in a 
S. W. direction, is a Turkish burial-ground, on which are scattered 
many fragments of architecture, and columns of marble and granite. 
Their style precludes any pretensions to high antiquity. Neither on 
the hill just described, nor on the road to it, did we discover any 
remains of art of a Cyclopean kind similar to those seen at Tiryns, 
Argos, and Mycenae, and other parts of Greece. We saw no frag- 
ments of vases and pottery, so generally abundant on the sites of 
ancient cities in Asia Minor and Greece. W e observed a few sculp- 
tured marbles in different parts of the village ; one with festoons of 
flowers suspended from rams' heads ; another with an architectural 
ornament. 

There was also a bas-relief representing a warrior, his arm resting 
on another figure ; this appears to have been the metope of an 
ancient Doric temple. Close to the mosque of the village is a 
marble slab, on which is an imperfect Greek inscription ; mention is 
made in it of some act of piety towards Minerva. 

About a mile below the Tchiflick of Bounarbashi and the mosque 
are the fountains or sources of a rivulet. They are called by the 
Turks, Kirk-joss, " Forty-eyes." One of the strongest of these springs 
has been formed into a reservoir or cistern, and some slabs of marble 
and broken pillars placed for assisting the inhabitants of the village 
to wash and to fill their urns. The water of this fountain appeared 
to me of ordinary temperature ; but our guides told us, that in winter 
it is so much warmer than the adjoining springs, as to send forth 
vapour or steam. 



110 



ASIA MINOR. 



The whole of the ground near this fountain abounds with springs ; 
and wherever there is a cleft or crevice in the rocky surface, clear 
water gushes out profusely. The stream formed by these fountains 
now goes to a Tchiflick or farm, built by the famous Hassan Pasha ; 
here it turns some corn-mills, and then falls into the Archipelago, 
south of Yenicher or Sigeum, at about one-third of the distance of 
that promontory from Alexandria Troas. Our guides however from 
Yenicher assured us, that formerly it flowed in a different bed, and 
fell into the Mendere Sou ; and that still, during the winter floods 
and equinoctial rains, it overflows its modern channel, and runs in 
its ancient bed to the Mendere : and that the precise spot of this 
junction of the Kirk-joss, or Bounarbashi Sou, and the Mendere is 
at a place called Coum Dere, and is marked by the piers of a 
ruined stone bridge, about three miles and a half S. E. of Cape 
Yenicher, at about eight miles from its source in a direct line, and 
about three miles from Coum Kale. 

The breadth of the bed of this stream where it joins the Mendere 
is about seven or eight yards ; and the breadth of the Mendere there 
about sixty yards. On visiting this spot, we found that our guides 
had given us a very faithful account, and that a late flood had brought 
some of the waters of the Kirk-joss into its old channel, and over- 
flowed the neighbouring part of the plain. We could not find any 
conical barrow near this junction where the tomb of Ilus is supposed 
to have stood. The snowy tops of Ida or Gargarus were pointed 
out to us from this spot by our guides, and called by them Kaz-Dag; 
indeed that lofty pike may be seen from the whole extent of the 
plain, except near Bounarbashi ; a range of hills there screens it 
from the spectator, as well as at the Pergamus. 

The waters of the Kirk-joss at their source are very much esteemed 
by the natives, and our guides told us, that there is a tradition of 
the water having been conveyed in former times by aqueducts to 
ancient Troya ; by which they always mean Alexandria Troas. The 
Mendere Sou is called by this name, from its source in Mount 
Gargarus or Kaz-Dag, to the place where it is discharged into the 



ASIA MINOR. 



Ill 



Hellespont : sometimes indeed our guides named it Scamandros, and 
6 noTupog, " the river," but always meant by those appellations the 
Mendere. It has a broad stream during its whole course ; in the 
plain it flows over a bed generally of sand ; sometimes of pebbles ; 
but towards its source, it is full of large masses of detached granite 
rock, that have been rolled down by floods. 

About three miles and a half west of Bounarbashi, and two miles 
and a half from the sea-shore, and about eight or nine miles south of 
Sigasum, a lofty barrow of the usual conical form rises from the 
plain ; it is now called the tomb of iEsyetes, and mentioned by 
Homer as existing before the Trojan war, and as being the eminence 
from which Polites the son of Priam reconnoitred the forces of the 
Greeks. This circumstance throws much doubt on the origin of 
these numerous barrows or tumuli scattered over the plain and its 
shores. Were they raised to cover the remains of the heroes men- 
tioned by Homer ; or were the details in the Iliad adapted to the 
existing appearances of the country where the story is laid ? Conical 
mounds of similar construction are to be found in all the plains of 
the east, bearing the name of Tepe ; they are seen in Scythia, in 
Thrace, Macedonia, and in Greece. Our guides from Yenicher 
assured us that it is still the custom of the Turkish armies to raise 
mounds of this kind on their march ; and that the standard of the 
Vizier or General is displayed during the encampment upon them. 

Having already mentioned the situation of En Tepe, or the tumulus 
of Ajax, with respect to the Hellespont, I will here observe, that one 
of our guides informed us, that at Yenicher there is a tradition of the 
sea having formerly washed the foot of En Tepe; and he added, 
that even now the part of the plain between Coum Kale and En 
Tepe (the naval station of the Greeks) is called in their old writings 
and title deeds, Beyadeh Dere, " the valley of boats," and that a 
village now more than a league from the shore is still called Cala- 
fatlee, or the " Careening place." If this tradition of the littus 
relictum be well founded, it renders much more probable many of 



112 



ASIA MINOR. 



the incidents of the Iliad, by reducing the distance between the 
citadel of Troy and the naval camp of the Greeks. 

The master of the Tchiflick where we purposed to lodge, was so 
unhospitable and churlish in his manners that we left his house, and 
took up our abode in the cottage of an acquaintance of our guides. 
Here in the evening we were entertained with a rustic concert and 
dancing ; one of the performers played on a kind of small violin, 
not held to the shoulders, but supported on the knee. Another of 
the company played on a small guitar or lute, the body of which was 
simply the shell of a land-tortoise, an animal very common on the 
neighbouring hills. Having mentioned the use of the Testudo, we 
may here state two other circumstances, which in this part of our 
tour reminded us of more ancient times. The car or little waggon 
in use on the Troad has its wheels formed of solid blocks ; and bears 
in its general appearance a striking resemblance to the chariots of 
Homer's heroes, as they are represented on ancient bas-reliefs, 
engraved gems, and Greek or Etruscan vases. The construction of 
the Turkish ships which are employed in the trade of the Black-sea, 
and parts of the Archipelago, also preserve some ancient peculiarities. 
The curved shape of the vessel from the poop to the prow, the lofty 
towering station of the pilot, the black and dusky sides of the vessel, 
the red-painted holes through which the hawsers or cables pass, 
the daubing and greasing the bottom and keel with tallow, are con- 
tinued from remote times. The epithets v.oiXy, ^s?,ocivcy, Kopw)g, y\a<pvpvi y 
fu\T07rct$y)oq are as applicable to a Turkish Beyadeb. as they could have 
been to a Greek galley. 

The Scamandrian plain in its extreme length from Yenicher to 
Atche Keui appears to be about ten miles ; its mean breadth about 
five miles. It is cultivated, and said to be fertile in its whole extent, 
except in the neighbourhood of En Tepe, (Rhceteum,) where the 
ground is boggy, making about a fifth of the whole plain. The 
produce is from seven to ten of the seed-corn. The property here 
is vested in Hadim Oglou of the Dardanelles ; the Sultan's tribute 
from the cultivator or tenant is farmed, and collected so oppressively 



ASIA MINOR. U3 

as to make it amount to an eighth, instead of the legal tenth of the 
harvest. 

On the 12th of March we left Bounarbashi, having the citadel and 
its ruins on our left, and Udjek Tepe the supposed tomb of iEsyetes 
on our right, or towards the west ; about a mile and a half from 
Bounarbashi we came to a mound of earth called by our guides 
Arabia Tepessi. It is flat on the top ; and there were traces of some 
former structure on it. The river Mendere runs close by Arapla, 
and its course here is very picturesque ; the craggy precipices of 
Kara-Dag form one of its banks, and the adjoining valley was full 
of wild-flowers, and the side of the stream abounded with oleanders, 
olive-trees, and myrtles. An island made at this place by the 
divided current had many cattle grazing on it. We were still ac- 
companied by Mustapha, who had brought with him from Bounarbashi 
a. fine greyhound. This favourite dog had warm clothing like a 
trained race-horse* ; the tip of his tail and ears, and some spots of 
his back were stained with a scarlet or deep orange colour ; a dye 
used now, as in earlier times by the Turks. Their beards are often 
ornamented with it ; and we see it frequently applied to the nails of 
the fingers and feet of the Turkish women. It is taken from the 
Lawsonia inermis. ' 

Our road led us along the course of the Mendere Sou through a 
rich and extensive valley ; a lofty wooden bridge on stone piers here 
crossed the river. The mountainous tract of Cebrenia was to the 
East. At about nine miles from Bounarbashi, the top of Kaz-Dag 
or Gargarus again came in view, and this nearer prospect of its 
snows and height made us almost despair of being able to reach its 
summit. 



* Dr. Clarke observed " the dogs near Katarina in Thessaly, making a singular 
appearance, wearing body-clothes." T. 3. 



Q 



114 



ASIA MINOR. 



Extract from Dr. Sibthorp's Journal respecting the Plain of Troy. 

" Sept. 1774. We left Cdum Kale and passed by a paved road, on 
the sides of which were vineyards and gardens. We entered on the 
fertile plains of Troy, having crossed the Simois, the bed of which 
was dry ; at Bounarbashi the steward of the Aga who had gone 
himself on a pilgrimage to Mecca received us, and prepared a rustic 
supper. The court-yard of the Aga was that of a large farmer ; 
numerous buildings, as cow-houses, sheep-stalls, and sheds for 
different purposes, lined the sides of it, and instruments of husbandry 
were disposed in various parts. The wains were of a singular 
structure, and probably of very ancient origin, and had received 
none of the improvements of 'modern discoveries. A large wicker 
basket eight feet long, mounted on a four-wheeled machine, was 
supported by four lateral props, which were inserted into holes or 
sockets. The wheels were made of one solid piece, round, and 
convex on each side. The house was placed on an elevated site, 
commanding a view of the plain of Troy ; a little to the left was the 
source of the Scamander marked by a poplar grove ; the Simois 
waved to the right in a serpentine course, its bed nearly dry, edged 
with Tamarisk, Planes, and Agnus Castus. 

" The plain of Troy, which reached almost to the village, was an 
extended flat of a rich fertile loamy soil, that now changed into a 
bed of basalt, on which the village of Bounarbashi was built. Three 
sorts of wheat are sown in the plain, distinguished by the titles of 
Cara Culchuck, Devidishi, and Sari Boulda. The country was also 
cultivated with cotton and sesamum. The peasants were busy in 
carrying home in their wicker wains their crops of Indian corn ; the 
yellow was the most common sort. 

" Having reached the point of the mountains which we judged to 
be the site of the ancient Acropolis, we had the broad shallow bed of 
the Simois immediately under us ; it was now quite dry. On the de- 
clivity of the rock, which was composed of a white coarse-grained 



ASIA MINOR. 



115 



marble, and extremely steep, grew the prickly almond, the Paliurus 
and yellow jasmine, and from the fissures the wild fig and Conyza 
Candida. In the evening we walked to the source of the Scamander, 
and near it were shown a clear crystalline spring, said in winter to 
be warm, but at present (Sept.) giving no sensation of heat. We 
followed the river some way from its source ; the stream fed by 
numerous springs had been interrupted, and overflowed the neigh- 
bouring lands, forming a large tract of reedy ground frequented by 
ducks, coots, and snipes ; besides the chub, eels, and two other sorts 
of fish were caught in its stream. The marsh-mallow, the prickly- 
liquorice, and the goats-rue grew on its banks." — Dr. S. 



We now quitted the main channel of the Mendere on our left ; 
and crossing one of its tributary streams*, which flows from the 
south, and runs through a plain called Ene Dere, we arrived at the 
house of Hadje Achmet, son of Hadim Oglou in the town of Ene, 
of which he is Aga or feudal chieftain. The title of Hadje or Pilgrim, 
implies that he has either visited Mecca in person, or paid the 
expenses of a pilgrim for going thither for him. The same epithet 
Xccra-yj is assumed by Greek Christians, who have visited in this 
character the Holy Land. Ene is about thirteen miles from Bounar- 
bashi ; and Hadje Achmet lives here in a kind of feudal grandeur. 
On entering the court of his mansion, a young page made a loud 
beat on a drum which hangs at the gate. 

The Aga, to whom we were immediately introduced, received us 
with much kindness, and treated us hospitably, and though a Musul- 
man and Hadje, he did not suffer wine to be banished from our 
meals. He sent one of his guards as our guide through the town 
and its environs in search of antiquities, but our discoveries were not 



* This stream flowing from the south, and near Ene, is noticed in Major Rennell's 
map, No. vi. See his remarks on the topography of Troy. 

Q 2 



116 



ASIA MINOR. 



important. The first Greek inscription we saw was in the wall of a 
shop in the Bazar ; it was broken and defaced. 

. OI1ATHP. . * 
TOMNHMA . 
2EAAKPYHN 
TAIOD 

We crossed the Ene Dere Sou, or river of Ene, by a bridge, in the 
building of which a number of ancient granite columns had been 
employed. We found a sarcophagus, now converted into the cistern 
of a fountain with an imperfect inscription ; the form of its letters 
was not more ancient than the time of the first Caesars. It merely 
contains the usual fine to be imposed on any one who shall dare to 
put the bones of any person into it, except of him for whom it was 
made. At a public fountain near one of the mosques of Ene are two 
beautiful ancient marble capitals of the Corinthian order placed be- 
neath a sarcophagus, now used as a cistern. There are many granite 
columns in the Turkish burying ground. These, we were told, had 
been brought from some ruins about twelve miles distant. 

Ene is a large town, consisting of about 800 families, mostly Turks, 
who carry on a small manufactory of yellow leather. The boys of 
the town followed us in crowds, but did not behave in the least de- 
gree rudely. At a little past three in the afternoon we left Ene and 
its hospitable Aga ; keeping the river on our left, we proceeded on 
our journey to Mount Kaz-Dag, passing a village called Kozoul Keui. 
About five miles from Ene we came to a rivulet called Baloukli Dere 
Sou, and a mile further to another called Tchourmagee, both of which 
fall into the Mendere Sou ; we then passed a farm-house or Tchiflick 
of Hadim Oglou, and about fourteen miles from Ene we reached 
Bairamitchr, the ancient seat of Hadim Oglou's ancestors. Here we 
were lodged and well received. The house is so large that we counted 
twenty-seven rooms opening into the principal gallery. 

This town and the district for some miles round it, have the air of 
riches and independence : well cultivated fields, good fences, sub- 



ASIA MINOR. 



117 



stantial cottages, prove the comfortable state of the tenantry. Foun- 
tains or wells for the use of travellers are made along the roads. It 
was here that the ancestors of Hadim Oglou lived in feudal dignity 
and patriarchal hospitality ; and he is the first of his family who has 
suffered himself to be tempted from rural independence to accept the 
public employments of the Porte. I have before mentioned the 
heavy contributions that have lately been levied, upon- him at the 
Dardanelles, and his old tenants are beginning to fear that he must 
oppress them in turn, and that in no long time he will be the victim 
of some revolution in the ministry, and thus bring on the extinction 
of a family that has for ages been a blessing to the country. Baira- 
mitche contains about six hundred families, and has a large well-built 
Khan or Caravanserai for the accommodation of travellers. In this, 
we were told, two of oar countrymen had lodged a few days before 
our arrival. 

In one of the streets we observed a granite sarcophagus, used as a 
cistern of a fountain ; it is six feet long and two feet deep. There is 
an inscription on it in very ancient characters, but we could only 
decypher the following words KAIKOOANEIA HENO<f>AEI. The latter 
is the name Xenophae, and we find a similar termination in Calliphae, 
a name of one of the Ionian nymphs. * In the yard of a house be- 
longing to a Greek We saw a small marble statue of a female, nearly 
entire, of admirable workmanship ; the folds of the drapery appear 
a little raised by the left knee. In the house of the same Greek was 
the head of a much larger statue. [Some remarkable ruins were dis- 
covered by Dr. Clarke, about two hours distance from this place, at 
Kouchounlou Tepe. — E.] 

The difficulty of procuring horses detained us at Bairamitche until 
noon. As soon as our friendly host had provided them for us, we 
set out for Kaz-Dag, almost deterred by the reports we heard from the 
hope of being able to reach its summit, though we were resolved to 
proceed at least as far up as the source of the Mendere, whose wind- 



* Straboj lib. viii. 



118 



ASIA MINOR. 



ings we had been following so many days. About five or six miles 
from Bairamitche we crossed the river, which our guides still occasion- 
ally called the Scamander ; it was here about fifty or sixty paces wide. 
We saw some ruins of ancient buildings, and passed two small vil- 
lages, both of which our guides called Ghiour Keui. Here the 
stream began to decrease rapidly in breadth, and when we forded it 
again, we found it not more than twenty-five paces broad. The val- 
ley here was so green, the shade so refreshing, the water dashing 
among masses of granite, so clear that we were induced to alight. 
The beauty of the scenery around us was very striking ; the lofty and 
well wooded hills on each side prevented any glare of light, so that the 
outline of each object was defined with clearness. The forests, vine- 
yards, pastures, cottages, and flocks, were blended into the most 
beautiful harmony of colouring ; while the towering Mount Gargarus 
closed in the valley, and showed in the distant horizon its snowy top, re- 
flecting a burnished light, with groves of dark pine-trees on its sides. 

At a quaiter past four in the afternoon, we reached Evjilah, or the 
village of hunters ; it lies at the foot of Kaz-Dag. Here our recep- 
tion was most rude and inhospitable ; neither Aga nor peasant seemed 
disposed to receive us within their doors ; and the only place of 
accommodation they offered to us was a ruined and uninhabited cot- 
tage of mud. On showing our firman and bouyurdee, and hinting that 
on our return to those who granted them, we should give an account 
of the treatment we had experienced, the Aga condescended to exert 
his authority, and ordered lodging to be prepared for us in the cottage 
of a peasant. In addition to some coarse cakes we were only able to 
procure a hare, which had been brought in from the forests of Ida by 
one of the villagers who had been hunting there. A large fire was 
made for us, as the weather was piercingly cold ; and long pieces of 
pine-tree, saturated with turpentine, were lighted instead of lamps or 
candles. The inhabitants, though Turks, called these torches Aad'ia, 
a word* slightly corrupted from the ancient term. 



* A«8«5, ligna arboris pini vel piceae. D'Orville, Cbarit. ii. 489. 



ASIA MINOR. 



119 



The Imaum of the mosque and the old men of the village came to 
smoke their pipes and converse round our fire in the evening, and on 
our offering them some of our coffee, they became sociable and com- 
municative. The most intelligent of our visitors was a Turk, who in 
his youth had been a mariner, and who had visited the shores of the 
Black Sea and of Egypt ; he had now retired to his native village, 
where he supported himself by the manufactory of pitch and turpen- 
tine, which are made in the extensive fir groves of Ida during a great 
part of the year ; and in the winter he gained a livelihood by shooting 
the game and wild beasts of the forests of Gargarus, Qripluv. He 
expatiated on the wonders of Mount Kaz-Dag, telling us of its deep 
caverns and grottos, its streams, fountains, and cascades, and the ex- 
tent of the prospect from the summit. 

On informing him that the object of our journey was to reach the 
top of the mountain, he expressed his doubts of our being able to en- 
dure the cold and fatigue of such an undertaking at this season of the 
year ; but finding we were resolved to make the attempt, he offered 
to be our guide. Accordingly at a quarter before seven o'clock the 
next morning we set out. The river Mendere had now decreased 
to about four yards in breadth ; its course, however, was very strong 
and rapid among loose blocks of granite. Crossing its bed, we came 
to a ruined building, which my companion took some pains to measure. 
It appeared to me to have been originally a church of the later Greeks. 
It was about fifteen paces in length, and eight in breadth ; the walls 
about four feet thick, of very rough stone and mortar ; but there were 
no remains of columns or sculpture. Our guide called this and some 
other ruins we came to afterwards, Klishia, an evident corruption of 
hfc*>wmi probably this has been the resort of Greek Caloyers or her- 
mits at some former period. 

We now began to climb the hills at the base of Kaz-Dag, and soon 
reached the region of pines. In the course of our ascent we traversed 
very extensive forests of lofty fir-trees, which seem to be used solely for 
making pitch ; and we saw a number of rudely constructed furnaces 
for boiling and thickening the turpentine. Many of these wide 



120 



ASIA MINOR. 



forests had taken fire, and we were struck with the singular appear- 
ance of thousands of huge pines burnt as black as charcoal, standing 
erect, without a branch, the white sides of the snowy hills above, 
making a strong contrast with them. The pitch furnaces and a few 
huts to shelter the workmen, who at the season for extracting the 
pitch came not only from the Troad, but from the island of * Salamis, 
were the only vestiges of building we met with in this sequestered 
region of the mountain. 

At three quarters after nine o'clock, or three hours from Evjilah, 
we came to the foot of a magnificent cascade of the Mendere ; the 
fall appeared to be about fifty feet perpendicular. It then dashes 
impetuously from rock to rock, until it reaches the plain, which is 
about four or five hundred feet below this cascade. We climbed with 
difficulty over crags and broken ground to the orifice in the rock, 
whence it issues. There we found a spacious cavern, extending far 
into the mountain ; within it the waters of the Mendere roll from a 
distance, and bring a considerable stream, making a loud and deep 
noise, and bursting forth with violence into the open air. If this be 
the source of the Scamander, we are not surprised that in the days of 
mythology a river issuing so nobly from so mysterious a source should 
have been deified and adored under the names of the divine Xanthus 
or Scamander. 

On our first entrance into this spacious cavern, all was dark and 
awful; and the noise of the waters coming from a distance, and dash- 
ing against their rocky channel, stunned our ears. The guide, how- 
ever, soon struck a light, and with his blazing torches of pine- wood, 
Jali* as he called them, disclosed to our view the foaming waters 
coming from two deeply-worn channels, which entered into the 
bowels of the mountain, beyond the reach of his torches' light. He 
then bared his legs, and descended into one of these channels, desir- 
ing us to follow him up its windings, which he said might be done to 



* See also Hobhouse's Travels, p. 384. 



ASIA MINOR. 



121 



a considerable distance. But the water here had not been tempered 
by the sun and air, and was so benumbingly cold, that we declined 
his invitation. We then scratched our names on the roof of the 
cavern, and returned to day-light. 

The most arduous and fatiguing part of our journey still remained 
to be performed, the face of the mountain being so rugged and steep 
as to prevent our riding. We therefore followed our guide on foot, 
climbing and scrambling like goats from crag to crag. Here we 
could not help noticing how much more secure-footed he was in his 
bear-skin sandals, than we in our English shoes. He told us, that 
the bear, of whose skin his sandals were made, had been killed by 
himself on this very mountain ; the hair of the skin was outwards, to 
give a firmer hold of the ice and snow. When we had proceeded 
about two miles on our winding road from the cavern, we reached the 
beginning of the snowy district ; and here it required some enthusiasm 
and courage to keep to our resolution, as our guide assured us that 
three trying hours would be employed in reaching the summit. 

Reflecting however how much we might hereafter regret having 
been so very near the object of our wishes without accomplishing 
them ; we halted for a short time, and then set off with renewed 
ardour. After climbing two hours through the snow, my feet often 
giving way, my strength and spirits failed, and I determined to stop 
here, desiring the guide and my companion to be careful in their 
return not to miss me ; and to mark the place I made a number of 
crosses on the snow. However, on my friend's assuring me of my 
danger being greater if I should suffer myself to be overcome by 
sleep in consequence of my fatigue, than if I proceeded with him, 
I went forward ; and, continuing our steep ascent, we reached in half 
an hour the highest point of Gargarus. 

On this fearful summit of Ida we found a level surface of no great 
extent ; it was of an oblong form, with a rudely-built wall around it, 
in which were a few small blocks of marble. This inclosure may 
probably have been a Greek church, or perhaps only a sheep-pen 
raised for the protection of the flocks in the summer months. 

R 



122 



ASIA MINOR. 



Unfortunately at our first reaching the place, the snow fell so thick, 
and the atmosphere was so loaded with mist, that we could see little 
of the vast prospect it would have afforded in a clear day. One short 
gleam of sunshine showed us the whole Scamandrian plain extended 
at our feet, and watered, through its whole length, by the serpentine 
course of the river. At this moment our guide pointed out to us a 
number of places in the distant horizon ; the isles of Imbros and 
Samothrace, Mount Athos in Macedonia, Alexandria Troas, Sigeum, 
and the Euxine. I drew a circle in the snow around him, noting as 
nearly as I could the bearings given to me by this veteran mariner. 
As we had no means of ascertaining the height, I can only state the 
calculation of Mr. KaufTer, a German engineer, who, when in the 
service of M. Choiseul Gouffier, estimated it at 775 toises above the 
level of the Archipelago. 

Our guide told us that other large rivers besides the Mendere have 
their source in Gargarus ; one he called Klishiah Sou, which falls 
into the Mendere ; another he called Magra. And he also spoke of 
three great rivers called Ak-chya, Monaster-chya, and Gure-chya, 
which discharged themselves into the Archipelago. 

I here venture to record a circumstance which proves on how fan- 
ciful a foundation etymological reasonings are founded. Our guide, 
when he pointed expressively to the snow on the top of the mountain, 
repeated the words Gar, Gar, " Snow, snow," in which an enthusias- 
tic topographer of the Iliad would easily have traced the ancient 
name of Gargarus. 



ASIA MINOR. 



123 



CHAP. IV. 

Descent from Ida. — Assos. — Ruins and Theatre. — Salt Springs at Tousla. — Greek 

Peasantry ofNeachore. — Tenedos. 

W E now turned our steps back through the dark forests and crags 
of Ida, and soon reached Evjilah, where we found the villagers 
surprized at our having been on the summit of Kaz-Dag. We 
supped on the scanty fare which this place furnished ; our bread was 
the worst we had yet seen, being unleavened cakes made of ca- 
lambochi. 

Evjilah contains about thirty families, all Mahometan. Their 
cottages are miserable ; the walls are of mud, and the roof of turf 
or soil, laid horizontally on fir rafters. In fine weather the Turks 
pass more of their time on these terraces, than in the gloomy com- 
fortless room below ; on most of these roofs we observed a fragment 
of a small granite column, used as a roller to smooth the surface. 
The only person in the place, who seemed to be above a state of 
indigence, was a Turk who had been in the service of the governor 
of the Dardanelles, and after saving a little money had retired to 
his native village, where he now filled the office of Aga ; and seemed 
to act in the capacity of a mayor or justice of the peace. He had 
built a mosque here at his own expense ; the Imaum or curate of 
which paid us a visit : his stipend, we found, was fixed at sixty 
piastres, less than four pounds a year, for which he both officiated 
at the mosque and kept the school. To this was added an occasional 
present at a circumcision or a funeral. He depended, however, more 
on the produce of a little farm, than on his profession, for a 
maintenance. 

The inhabitants in general live more by pasturage of cattle and 
the chase, than by agriculture, and seem to have few comforts of 
life ; but we were surprised at the very extravagant price they 
demanded for the trifling articles with which they unwillingly 

r 2 



124 



ASIA MINOR. 



supplied us. Our guide insisted on having seven piastres (or half 
a guinea) in hand, before he set out with us to the top of Kaz-Dag ; 
and told us that our countrymen had paid him double that sum. 

During our supper, some sooty workmen from the pitch furnaces 
came to us, begging charity, and saying that they were Christians 
from the island of Salamis, and that they had been impressed for 
this service by the Capudan Pasha, who annually sends a ship for 
some of their countrymen, that they may be employed in the forests 
of Ida. 

After recruiting our strength by a night's rest at Evjilah, we 
proceeded next day on our return towards Yenicher ; our route led 
us through part of the ancient Scepsis ; for some time we kept the 
road by which we had come, and then crossed a tributary stream of 
the Mendere, called Chiousluk Sou, which is dry in the summer 
months. Our road was on the western banks of the Mendere. Four 
miles from Evjilah we quitted the rich valley of Bairamitche, and 
struck off towards the left. About two miles further we crossed 
another rivulet, broad but shallow, called Yaskebal-Chya. In a 
Turkish burial-ground here, I noticed a few scattered fragments of 
ancient buildings. Four miles further we came to a lofty hill 
called Kezil Tepe. We rested for a short time under an oriental 
plane-tree ; and then passed through a Turkish village called 
Oranjou, and soon discovered^ by the frequency of fountains on the 
road-side, by the goodness of the fences, and the cultivated face of 
the country, that we had again reached estates belonging to Hadim 
Oglou's family. The source of the rivulet Sanderlee is extremely 
beautiful, and we found the pale-green tint of the plane-trees near 
it a most pleasing relief to the eye after the gloomy pine forests, 
and dazzling snow of Gargarus. 

In the evening we reached the town of Boyuk Bounarbashi, or the 
greater Bounarbashi, so called to distinguish it from the village of the 
same name at the top of the Scamandrian plain. We found this 
town very gay and noisy on account of the celebration of a Turkish 
wedding ; and before we retired to rest, a band of musicians, who had 
been brought to the wedding-feast from the Dardanelles came to our 



ASIA MINOR. 



125 



lodgings with a set of dancers. The concert was composed of three 
instruments not unlike clarionets, and a number of drums of different 
sizes. The shrillness of, the pipes, and the stunning noise of the 
drums were ill suited to the little room in which we were sitting. 
Both musicians and dancers were strolling gypsies in the Turkish 
dress ; one acted the part of clown or buffoon ; and the dance was 
altogether so indecent, that we soon dismissed them. 

Boyuk Bounarbashi which Hadim Oglou told us was so much 
more worthy of being visited than the Bounarbashi in sight of 
Yenicher, is about twenty miles from Evjilah at the foot of Gar- 
garus. It has its name like the other from the copious springs of 
water near it. A large modern fountain, from which three streams 
flow, has been built of blocks of marble, probably from some ruins 
in the neighbourhood ; but we could detect neither inscription nor 
sculpture of ancient date : in the adjoining burial-ground are a few 
granite columns. 

We proceeded hence in a S.W. direction, passing a village named 
Turcmanly ; our road was through a plain, Salkecheui Deresi, bounded 
by a range of hills called Kara-dag, " the black hills :" there is 
another village, Sapoory, at which we did not stop ; and about 
fourteen miles from Boyuk Bounarbashi we arrived at Aivajek. 
This is a town of about two hundred houses, under the jurisdiction 
of Osman Aga, who is independent of Hadim Oglou, or at least 
wished to make us think so, by the contempt with which he treated 
that governor's Bouyurdee. At this place we were received with rude- 
ness and insult ; and were sent to a Khan with a guard to watch us, 
until the suspicious Aga had examined our passports and cross- 
questioned our guides. He would not admit us to his presence ; 
but ordered us to leave his territory without delay ; and we departed 
as soon as we could procure some horses. The Khan in which we 
halted was built by the present Aga; it has about thirty rooms 
besides stables ; some of which are let out to pedlars* tailors, and 
other tradesmen, who come occasionally to reside here. From the 
inhospitable town of Aivajek we proceeded by a road winding 



126 



ASIA MINOR. 



through mountains, until we reached a sluggish river, the waters of 
which are concealed in many places by ridges ; it is called Tousla 
Chya, or the river of the salt-marsh. Here we had the first view of 
the gulf of Adramyttium, with a groupe of little islands on it. At 
eight miles from Aivajek is the Turkish village of Beyram, adjoining 
very extensive ruins of ancient buildings, whose proportions are so 
great and noble, that the miserable Turkish houses of Beyram look 
like the temporary huts of a travelling horde. 

The next morning we eagerly began our examination of these 
magnificent remains of a city which we presumed to be Assos. We 
were fortunate enough to meet with an attentive host and useful 
guide at this place, whom we found waiting for us at the entrance of 
the town. He told us that he had heard of two English travellers 
who proposed to explore that neighbourhood in their way to Alex- 
andria Troas, and therefore he had prepared a lodging, and the Aga 
had sent him provisions for our use. He was a mariner, and a 
native of Mytilene. The dinner provided for us consisted of a kind 
of soup thickened with barley, pancakes mixed with spinach, and a 
pilaw of rice dressed with very rancid butter ; pastry made of butter 
equally rancid, and swimming in honey. 

March 17. — Assos has stood upon a sloping hill facing the sea, 
and commanding a view of Lesbos in the Adramyttian gulf. Its 
walls have been of great strength, and are about five miles in circuit. 
Three of the ancient gate-ways remain quite entire ; the fourth is in 
ruins ; the high ground, which was originally the "Ao-tv, Acropolis 
or citadel, is a rock of granite of very steep sides. Upon it are 
ruins of an ancient edifice, which in the revolution of succeeding 
ages has been a Genoese castle and a Greek church, and is now a 
Turkish mosque. Over its entrance on an architrave, is an inscription 
in very modern Greek characters; it makes mention o£"Av9ipog6 
7rpoe<5pcf ZKccpccvfyov.* Near the mosque are two subterranean build- 



* It is remarkable, that throughout this district, not only on the shores of the 
Hellespont but also on those of the JEgsean sea, there should have been particular 



ASIA MINOR. 127 

ings, about thirty feet long and forty-five deep ; they have probably 
been reservoirs or cisterns to hold water for the garrison ; as a well in 
one of them still supplies in part the town of Beyram. 

On the brow of the Acropolis are scattered some broken columns 
of granite, which are fluted, and among them are some bas-reliefs on 
blocks of granite ; the figures are about twenty inches in height ; one 
part of the subject represented seems to have been a procession to 
a sacrifice ; there are three naked figures, with their arms extended, 
marching in the same direction ; and another looking back to them. 
The style of work is Egyptian. The exposure to the sea-air has 
corroded the sculptured surface. On another block of granite were 
two bulls fighting ; their horns are locked together : on another were 
three horses running ; on another two winged sphinxes, resting each 
of them a foot on a kind of candelabrum placed between them, and 
looking towards each Qther. A symposium or banquet is also 
sculptured on a block of granite ; a youth is seen presenting a cup 
to a bearded man who is reclined on a couch * ; a large vase or 
amphora is near him ; and various figures are in the back-ground, 
forming altogether the representation of some funeral scene or 
ceremony. These fragments have probably composed the frize of a 
granite temple which has stood on this citadel ; the columns are 
about three feet in diameter ; parts of the shafts remain on their 
original site, so that a person conversant with ancient architecture 
might easily trace the plan and different details. 



reference made to the Scamandros ; we find the river also mentioned on the coins of 
Alexandria Troas, AAEEANAPE&N 2KAMANAP02 (Cuper, Harpoc, 216.) Is this 
regard paid to the little rivulet at Bounarbashi, or to the river which rises in great 
majesty and beauty from the recesses and caverns of Ida ? — E. 

* The marbles and monuments of antiquity on which are seen figures of persons 
reclining on couches, in the act of drinking, genio indvlgentes, refer to the opinion, that 
the deceased so represented were in a state of happiness, kv 'HXva'w usSio), " ut beatorum 
conditionem exprimerent, eos accumbentes sculpserunt," says Cuper. See a remarkable 
passage to this purpose in Plato, 1. 2. de repub. xaXX^rov «pTrj s - /xj<r$ov |xe'fl>jv diwvtov. — E. 



128 



ASIA MINOR. 



Descending from the Acropolis we came to a small but beautifully 
constructed edifice, having an arched or rather vaulted dome ; the 
walls and roof are composed of huge blocks of granite fitted together 
without cement. This building had been converted into a vapour-bath 
by the Turks ; but appeared neglected. A double wall is built against 
the side of the Acropolis with a space between, probably to keep the 
buildings free from the moisture which filters through the crevices. 
At a short distance towards the sea are ruins of a magnificent gate- 
way to the city, and part of a grand flight of steps. Blocks of an 
architrave with inscriptions in large Greek characters lie near this spot. 
This architrave seems to have belonged to the portico or Propylsea ; 
the letters are four inches in length. 

. . SKAI1EPETSTOTAIOST. . . 
OTOMON&OTKAirrM 
©EOTKAI^APO^OAEAT . . # 

This portico has been of the Doric order, as is evident by the 
massive triglyphs which still remain. I also found another inscrip- 
tion in smaller characters. 

EKTHSnP020AOTTi2NArPi2NAnEAinENEl2Eni2KET 

HNTHSnOAE122KAEOSTPATOSTl6SnOAEI2^4>T^EIAE 

AIIEAAIK12NT02 

On the declivity of the hill, commanding a beautiful prospect of 
the gulf and island of Lesbos, stands an ancient Greek theatre, of 
which the remains are very considerable. The ranges of seats for 
the spectators remain almost perfect ; they are divided into three dis- 
tinct stories, and are conveniently hollowed out, for allowing the 
persons sitting to draw their feet a little back*, so as not to incom- 



* This form of the seats is not uncommon, and among other instances we may refer to 
the theatre at Iero in Epidauria. See Dcs Mouceaux. We find them sometimes cut out 
of the solid rock, as at Argos; but in all the ancient theatres the seats must have been 
covered with wood ; nfwTov l-vXov, primum lignum, was an expression used by the Greeks to 
signify the first seat. Pollux, iv. 121. The " wide walk," mentioned by Dr. Hunt, is 
the liutypa, or praecinctio, which was in general equal in breadth to two steps. 



ASIA MINOR. 129 

mode those who are before them. Two large vaulted entrances 
remain by which the people entered into the area, then ascended by 
five flights of steps to their appropriated places. There are forty ranges 
of seats, and at the top of the theatre there is a broad terrace or pro- 
menade. Counting from the ground, we find the first thirty seats 
separated from the succeeding seven by a wide walk ; there is a simi- 
lar interval between them and the last three, and these are terminated 
by the lofty terrace. 

Between the wall inclosing the theatre and the side of the acropolis 
against which it is built, there is a vacant space, intended, it appears, 
to carry off the water that trickles from the rock. Fronting the 
orchestra are some blocks remaining in their original place ; they 
may probably be the ruins of the Thymele, where the musicians were 
placed, and which was built of stone; near them is a broken in- 
scription, making mention of Cleostratus, the same person already 
recorded. 



It has been ascertained, that a person sitting at the most remote extremity of some of the 
ancient theatres was able distinctly to hear the voice of one speaking from the part where 
the actors stood. Experiments of this kind have been repeatedly made in 1785 at the 
theatre of Saguntum, which contained 12,000 people; and Marti said (Mountfaucon, A. 
E. iii. 237.) " that a friend reciting some verses of the Amphytrion of Plautus, on the 
scena, was distinctly heard by him at the top of the theatre." The distance is about 114 
feet. The architect Dufourny made in Sicily, in the ancient theatre of Tauromenium, 
similar observations. In this the distance from the pulpitum to the most elevated ex- 
tremity of the external circumference is sixty metres, or about 180 feet. He heard in 
every part of the theatre not only the ordinary voice of a man on the pulpitum, but the 
slow and gradual tearing of a piece of paper ; and added in his journal a remark, which 
naturally suggested itself to his mind, that Echea or the sounding vases, mentioned by 
Vitruvius, as well as masks, could not always have been necessary for the purpose of ex- 
tending and distributing the voice of the actor. See Mongez. Mem. de l'Institut. 1805. 
" The commentators on Vitruvius (says Schlegel) are much at variance with respect to 
the Echea. We may venture without hesitation to assume, that the theatres of the ancients 
were constructed on excellent acoustical principles." 

It appears that a contrivance, similar to that described by Vitruvius, was adopted in 
some Christian churches to strengthen the voice of the monks and canons. " Dans le 
chceur du temple neuf a Strasbourg, le professeur Oberlin a decouvert depareils vases ap- 
pliques a differens endroits de la voute." They were of Terra-cotta. Millin. D. de. B. 
A. i. 478. — E. 

s 



130 



ASIA MINOR. 



The diameter of the whole building is seventy paces, including the 
thickness of the walls of the Hospitalia.* In the middle range of 
the seats there are two large vomitoria. 

There are ruins of columns and architraves along the whole line of 
the wall which fronts the sea, indicating an extensive portico ; in a 
plain beneath is the ancient cemetery of Assos, where we observed 
many sarcophagi. Some of them are seven and eight feet high, and 
of a proportionate breadth and length; they have been hewn out of 
one massive block of grey granite, and their covers out of another. 
The sides are in general ornamented with festoons in relievo, and 
many have the remains of inscriptions, now so much defaced as to be 
quite illegible. 

The Turks appear to have broken into them all, by making holes 
in their side ; this was not so difficult a task as to raise their ponder- 
ous coverings. The entrances now admit kids and lambs, glad of the 
shelter and shade which they find within these ancient tombs. 

The view of this city in ancient times from the sea, and the 
approach to it from the shore must have produced a striking effect ; 
first, an extensive cemetery presented itself, covered with huge sarco- 
phagi of granite; then a flight of steps leading to a terrace and porti- 
cos, and the principal gate in the city walls; then the baths and edi- 
fices of the lower town, with the theatre, acropolis, and its temples 
rising majestically behind. 

In different parts of the ancient town we observed heaps of broken 
vases, of that light elegant fabric called Etruscan or Greek, beauti- 
fully varnished with black. The labours of any one who should carry 



• For the use and position of these buildings, see D'Orville, Sicilia. 259. who explains 
a passage of Vitruvius relating to them. " Haze aedificia," says D'Orville, "revera inser- 
vierunt variis sccnicis et theatralibns usibus; hie fuerunt choragia; hie machinas scenicae; 
hie ipsi histriones et chori parabantur." In the plan of the theatre found in Dr. Hunt's 
papers, the foundations of the scena are marked ; the Xoyeiov, that part of it where the 
actors stood, being generally of wood, is not of course remaining. The Aoyewv, answered 
in some respects to the pulpitum, only it was not so wide as the latter. The Romans had 
no Thymele; their singers and dancers were on the pulpitum. — See D'Orville, 259. 



ASIA MINOR. 



131 



on excavation in this place would be well repaid by the discovery of 
many valuable remains of ancient art. 

Unfortunately we could not find one inscription containing the 
name of the city, nor one Greek coin. Our guide produced many 
copper coins found here, but they were of little value, having no 
visible device or inscription. According to the tradition preserved by 
the present inhabitants, the place was a fortress of the Genoese. 

At half-past three o'clock in the afternoon we took our leave of 
these interesting ruins, and proceeding in a northerly direction, at 
about a mile and a half from Beyram, we crossed a stream called 
Tousla Chya, or the river of the Salt-wych. On our right were high 
hills ; we then entered a plain bounded by a ridge of eminences, the 
highest of which is called Topal Tepessi. At six miles north of Bey- 
ram, we crossed another rivulet, Goulfa Chya, which falls into the 
Tousla Chya. After ascending some steep hills, and leaving the vil- 
lage of Beergaz on our left, about nine miles north of Beyram, we 
reached a small town called Tamush. It is situated in a rocky coun- 
try where many herds of goats are kept, and below it is a deep dell 
or glen. We found the Aga of the place selfish and suspicious. Under 
pretence of doing us honour, he sent his supper to the cottage where 
we lodged ; he not only questioned us very closely, but asked whether 
we had not a watch, or pistols* or telescopes, to leave him in return 
for a greyhound he would give us. To all our enquiries about the 
history of the place he returned evasive answers. On leaving us he 
said we must be careful to abstain from wine in the room in which 
we lodged, as there were carpets and mats on the floor used by Mus- 
ulmans at the time of saying their prayers, and these might be pol- 
luted. He even ordered five or six of his attendants to pass the whole 
night in the room with us ; however a trifling present removed these 
troublesome spies, except one, an old negro, who sat up the whole 
night by the side of the carpet on which we slept. The town con- 
sists of about fifty families, all Turks ; and, with the exception of 
Hadje Aga, who had made a pilgrimage to Mecca, and ought to have 

learned hospitality, they were almost as ignorant as the goats they 

s 2 



132 



ASIA MINOR. 



tended. Next morning, accompanied by some guards of the Aga, 
we were allowed to go up a hill adjoining the town ; we saw from it 
the course of the river Tousla Chya, which, they told us, enters the 
sea about three hours or leagues north of Baba Bournou (Cape 
Lectum), and at three leagues to the south of Eski Stambol (Alexan- 
dria Troas). The plain in which the mouth of the river is situated, 
is called Tchesederesi-alti. 

Our road hence was by the side of a craggy glen, called Tchaytan- 
deresi, or the Devil's ditch ; until we came to Tousla-Dag, a moun- 
tain which forms the western extremity of the chain of Gargarus or 
Ida. We halted at a Turkish village called Baba-Deresi, seven miles 
from Tamush. Here our friendly guide the sailor, who had been our 
host at Beyram, gave so interesting a description of a place in the 
neighbourhood called Tousla, its boiling springs, and salt works, that 
when he added a visit to it would only make a deviation of an hour 
from our route towards Alexandria Troas, we resolved to proceed 
thither. At Baba-Deresi is a poor mosque with mud walls ; but it 
has a porch supported by three ancient columns, with capitals of dif- 
ferent orders, and of unequal workmanship. In the burial ground of 
the village there are also a few ancient marbles. 

Within the hour we reached the shallow ponds, in which the brine 
is exposed to evaporation. The salt-springs here are so copious, that 
after collecting as much of their waters as is wanted, the rest is suf- 
fered to run into the river Tousla Chya, which carries it to the sea. 
About 100,000 bushels of fine white salt are thus made annually. 
Hadim Oglou has the monopoly of it, which he purchases or farms of 
the Sultan. At one of the hot springs a bath has been built ; the roof 
is covered with locks of hair and other votive offerings, such as pieces 
of cloth and ribbands from the patients who have used it. After 
passing through the town of Tousla, we reached the principal hot 
spring, which bursts * from the solid rock at a considerable height 



* " Strabo, lib. xiii. mentions the saline of Tragasea, near Hamaxitus, on the coast of 
Troas. This is no doubt the one now in use at the mouth of the Tousla river, a league to 



ASIA MINOR. 



133 



above the ground ; the violence with which it issues, forms a jet of 
some feet before it falls towards the earth. The heat is that of boil- 
ing water ; the stones, near the place, appear burnt. The taste is 
salt and extremely bitter. About a hundred yards from this intensely 
hot spring is one of cold water, unimpregnated with salt, which runs 
in a separate channel to the river Tousla. A plot of green turf sepa- 
rates the hot from the cold fountain. 

The weather was so warm that our guides and servants seemed un- 
willing to accompany us up a high hill, that promised an extensive 
view. Mr. Carlyle and myself therefore ascended it together, and 
from its summit saw the stream which flows from the salt-springs fall 
into the river Tousla at about three miles distance. We noticed 
some slight traces of building on our road up, but on reaching the 
summit we found no vestiges of any edifice. The high mountains at 
Baba Bournou or Cape Lectum, prevented us from seeing Athos on 
the opposite coast of Macedonia. 

After rejoining our party at Tousla we retraced our steps to the 
road we had quitted, and soon overtook Mustapha, whom we had 
sent forward to procure accommodation for us at Tchesedere. We 
observed in the vineyards a number of Turkish farmers working to- 
gether, and found it was the custom for them to assist each other at 
pruning time, and at the vintage. The vineyards, however, are not 
cultivated here with the intention of making wine, the grapes are 
consumed by the Turks both as ripe fruit and when dried into raisins ; 
a syrup is also made from the juice called Petmez, and a tough kind 
of dried sweet-meat, used instead of sugar in their sherbet. The 
Turkish town of Tchesedere consists of about three hundred houses, 
under the jurisdiction of the Aga of Aivajek, whose deputy, Hadje 
Ali Aga, resides here : he had inclosed the cemetery with a wall ; 



the southward of Alexandria Troas. The agency of the Etesian winds, so oddly described 
by Strabo, was doubtless nothing more than that of raising the level of the sea, so as to 
overflow the margin, and fill the hollow plain within, where in due time it crystallized." — 
Rennell's Troy, 18. — The words of Strabo are, khoiryyiov mto^utov to»j eTi;o-/a<c Tnjyyu/Asvoy. 



134 



ASIA MINOR. 



we had not yet observed a burial ground in the Troad protected in 
this manner. 

At half-past three in the afternoon we again came in sight of the 
sea, and entered once more into Hadim Oglou's domain, the bound- 
ary of which is here marked by a tumulus called Vizier, or Pasha 
Tepe. Towards the shore there are many tumuli, to which our 
guides could give no other name than Besh Tepe, the five tumuli. 

Our road now led us through forests of the Valanea oak ; the large 
husks which contain their acorns are used for tanning, and form a 
principal article of export from this part of Turkey. These trees 
were now (March 18th) in full foliage. The valley, which here ex- 
tends to the sea, is called Olimichi Ouessi. At five o'clock we reached 
some ruins and observed many broken sarcophagi. At a Turkish 
Hammaum or bathing- house, built over a natural hot-spring, is a 
statue of a female figure in marble. We soon reached the remains of 
an ancient aqueduct, called by our guide Eski Stambol Capessi, or 
the gates of old Constantinople, a name given by the Turks to Alex- 
andria Troas. The day was too far advanced to allow us to visit the 
extensive ruins of this place, we therefore halted at Gaikli, where we 
slept. This village a few years ago contained a hundred and fifty 
Turkish families ; but the exactions of their Aga have forced most of 
them to emigrate to the adjacent 'island of Tenedos. At present 
there are not more than twenty-five inhabited cottages. 

On mentioning to our host our wish of visiting the ruins of Eski 
Stambol, he told us that Hadim Oglou's flocks were feeding in the 
pastures near that spot ; that they were so numerous as to require 
fifty watch-dogs, and that it would be unsafe for strangers to venture 
among them. A couple of piastres, however, induced a man to go 
forward and inform the shepherds that some friends of their master 
were coming to visit the ruins, and thus the danger, real or pretended, 
was avoided. 

Next morning, passing by the ruins of the ancient aqueduct, built 
originally by Herodes Atticus, and turning short to the right, we 
came in a short time to a vaulted building, probably in former times 



ASIA MINOR. 



135 



a bath, and coated in the inside with reticulated tile-work ; adjoining 
to it are pedestals of stone and mortar, which once sustained perhaps 
the columns of a gateway. Our guides conducted us to the remains 
of what is called Priam's Palace ; they appeared to have formed part 
of a gymnasium with baths, and belong to the time of Hadrian and 
the Antonines. The principal entrance is still a fine object, though 
stripped of most of the marbles with which it has been cased. .Some 
parts of the cornice and the capitals of Ionic pilasters remain in their 
original positions, and the centre arch is entire. The area enclosed 
by this edifice has been very extensive, and all its remains indicate 
magnificence. Great numbers of trees and shrubs are growing 
amongst them. 

Some of the seats of a theatre, which is not far from this spot, may 
be still seen ; the proscenium is entirely destroyed, and the area of 
the orchestra is filled with bushes. We examined some vaulted sub- 
terranean buildings, which our guides called ancient prisons for cri- 
minals. Proceeding towards the sea we noticed the site of the 
stadium ; some fragments of ornamental architecture are near it, of 
rich design, apparently of the Corinthian order. Near the ancient 
port we saw piles of cannon balls, formed out of granite columns by 
order of a late Capudan Pasha for the supply of the forts of the 
Dardanelles. 

We now quitted the ruins of Alexandria Troas, and returned to 
the little hamlet of Gaikli through a forest of pines, and at one 
o'clock proceeded towards Yenicher. In our road we observed a 
lake near the shore now called Yole, probably the Pteleos of Strabo ; 
on the right hand was a hillock or tumulus called Devise Tepe. We 
then reached the canal or bed, which, we were told, had been made 
to bring the waters of the Kirk-joss from Bounarbashi in order to 
work acorn-mill at a Tchiflick here. This, the villagers said, had 
been done about eighty years ago by a Sultana of the Seraglio, who 
was then proprietor of the estate, and that it had subsequently de- 
volved to Hassan Pasha who repaired it. 



136 



ASIA MINOR. 



March 19. — We crossed this little stream by a bridge, and con- 
tinued our route by the side of a fresh-water lake nearly three miles. 
Not far from the shore on our left was a conical mound, supposed to 
be the Tumulus of Peneleus, and between us and Bounarbashi arose 
the conspicuous barrow of Udjek-Tepe, or the tomb of iEsyetes. 

On our arrival at Yeni-keui, or Neachore as the Greeks call it, we 

stopped a short time to examine the church of the village, where we 

copied a Latin inscription. 

C. MARCIVS. MARSVS 
V. F. SIBI ET SVIS. 

Here we found a communicative Greek shopkeeper, who gave us 
the following information respecting the state of this part of the 
Troad. 

Neachore contains about a hundred families, all Greek Christians ; 
of these, seventy are land-owners and farmers, and thirty labourers 
and shopkeepers. Instead of the government-osour, which ought 
not to exceed a tenth of the produce, the rapacious Aga who buys 
it of the Porte, takes about an eighth from the cultivator. The 
charatch or capitation-tax is thus levied : Adult men pay five 
piastres a year or 7s. 6d. ; youths three, or 4s. 6d. ; and boys two and 
a half, 3s. 10c?. each. Neither women nor children are rated to 
this tax. At the vintage a tax of a penny an oke or about lid. a 
quart is paid to an officer of the Porte called the Sheraub-Emir, 
before it is put on board any vessel to be carried coast-wise. 
Husbandry servants have board, lodging, and clothes provided at 
their master's house, and wages varying from 60 to 115 piastres, 
or 4/. 10s. to eight guineas a year, besides the produce of three 
bushels of corn which they are suffered to sow without any expence 
on a piece of their master's land. 

Young women are mostly employed in spinning cotton ; their 
average work is a hundred drachms in four days, for which they 
receive 25 paras, about a shilling, a loaf of bread worth two-pence, 
and a dish of kidney beans or some other pulse, of nearly two 
pounds weight. 



ASIA MINOR. 



137 



Each landholder pays a bushel and a half of wheat every year to 
the officiating priest ; and other parishioners 60 paras, or 2s. 6d. 
each ; the burial fee is a piastre ; but generally from three to ten are 
given by the family to the priest for masses which he is to say for the 
repose of the soul of the deceased. 

The poor who are disabled from work by age or infirmities are 
supported by a quota of grain from each farmer, which amounts to 
about eighteen bushels to every poor family in the year. Money is 
also collected for them at the church on high festivals by the priest j 
this generally pays the rent of their cottage. 

As we proceeded from this place to Yenicher, our guide pointed 
out a dry ditch, which he pretended was once a canal, dug in ancient 
times for galleys, to avoid doubling the cape in bad weather. To us 
it appeared to be the bed of a torrent, now dry. The next object 
that attracted our notice was a conical mound of earth called De- 
metri Tepe, the supposed tumulus of Antilochus. The Greek Chris- 
tians have here built a small oratory or chapel at its base, where they 
celebrate mass on the festival of St. Demetrius. We then proceeded 
to Yenicher, and soon arrived at the cottage of the Greek Papas 
which we had left twelve days before. 

We had now completed our excursion through the Troad, during 
which I noted many objects that were remarkable as works of 
ancient art, or tended to illustrate the history or geography of the 
district. Such information as I was able to collect from guides or 
villagers, I have given as scrupulously as I was able ; and trifling 
as these details may appear, they were often acquired with difficulty. 
The questions were generally put to our Greek servant in French or 
Italian ; and the answers he obtained were in Turkish, in which he 
was not a great proficient. 

Our accommodations and provisions were never of the best kind ; 
in villages of Greeks we found that either from their extreme penury, 
or the fear of discovering to our Turkish guide their hard-earned 
pittance, we were not able to procure a meal until we had bought a 
kid or a lamb from a shepherd ; it was then to be killed, and the 

T 



138 



ASIA MINOR. 



cooking process to be finished before we could satisfy our hunger. 
The olives gathered ripe and preserved in rancid oil, and the caviar, 
which the Greek can eat with pleasure, are disgusting to an English 
palate ; and these with sour bread and bad wine are the only pro- 
visions a traveller can expect to meet with, unless he has sent for- 
ward some person to provide better entertainment. 

In Turkish villages he meets with worse reception ; and if a 
mattress and pillow be not among the traveller's store, he must 
often stretch his weary limbs on a dusty mat laid on an uneven 
mud floor. The provisions he generally meets with in these places 
are coffee and pilaw, made of boiled rice with mutton fat or suet, or 
rancid butter melted into it ; and as it is extremely difficult to 
procure even two or three horses, it is impracticable to take those 
things which might make amends for the inconveniences of the road. 

The petty Agas are sometimes insolent and suspicious of travellers, 
and interrupt their researches by private orders to their guides to 
lead them wrong, or by giving false information to travellers them- 
selves ; as they conceive all the curiosity of Franks in examining ruins 
and inscriptions is directed chiefly to discover concealed treasures ; 
and if the traveller ask questions concerning the course of rivers, 
and the distances of towns, it is suspected that it is for the sake of 
facilitating some meditated invasion of their country ; nor can the 
Sultan's firman, or even the escort of a Janissary of the Porte, always 
destroy such suspicions. 

We now prepared to take leave of the interesting region of the 
Troad, the Scamandrian plain, Mount Ida, and the shores of the 
Hellespont. It would be an invidious task to attempt destroying 
any of the enthusiasm that is felt in reading some of the immortal 
works of the ancient writers, by showing in what instances they have 
deviated from geographical precision in their allusions to local 
scenery ; and indeed it is hardly allowable to look for perfect and 
minute resemblance at the distance of nearly three thousand years. 
Natural and artificial changes must have taken place to a considerable 
extent in that time, in the face of the country, in the courses of the 



ASIA MINOR. 



139 



rivers through low ground,, in the outline of the shores of the rapid 
Hellespont. But sufficient resemblance, I think, still remains to 
warrant the belief that the plain of Mendere and Bounarbashi is the 
Scamandrian plain of Homer ; the Kaz-Dag is the Ida of the poet ; 
that Dtheo Tepe and In Tepe are the barrows alluded to as the * 
tumuli of Achilles and Ajax ; though the names of these heroes 
may have been assigned to them to give a kind of local habitation to 
invented incidents. A citadel and walls have also existed at a remote 
period near Bounarbashi ; but not of a construction contemporary 
with the supposed aera of the Trojan war. The ten years' duration 
of the siege ; the numbers of ships and forces furnished by Greece ; 
their means of subsistence ; the names of their leaders, and the 
particular details of engagements and single combats must frequently 
have been the invention of the poet ; and perhaps he merely availed 
himself of some popular legend of a predatory excursion, which had 
ultimately led to the establishment of his fellow-countrymen on the 
coasts of Asia Minor, adapting the incidents of his poem as much as 
possible to the appearance which the plain then exhibited, and to the 
received traditions of its inhabitants. 

March 21. — We went to Coum Kale at the mouth of the Mendere, 
where we hired a Turkish boat to convey us to Tenedos. We gave 
the owner 13 piastres for the passage to the island. 

Here we lodged at the house of a Greek, who fills the office of 
British Vice-Consul, and who is also nparoyepot, or chief Greek 
magistrate. There is only one town in the island, which contains 
about 750 families ; 450 of them are Mahommedan, and 300 of the 
Greek Christian church. The harbour is small, but commodious for the 
trading vessels, which come to purchase wine. Fuel, corn, and most 
of the provisions for consumption are brought from the opposite 
coast of the Troad. The principal and almost sole produce of Tene- 
dos is wine. For this the island is celebrated now as in ancient 
times ; we see the device of the cluster of grapes on the coins of 
Tenedos. The red kind is strong, and as dark and rough as port. 
A small quantity of muscadel is also made, which is much esteemed ; 

t 2 



140 



ASIA MINOR. 



the red sells at eight para's, or four-pence the oke of 2| lb. ; the white 
muscadel at thirty. Wine pays a custom-house duty of two paras an 
oke ; and rackee, the common raw spirit, pays four paras an oke on 
exportation. 

The government exacts from the Turks one-tenth of the produce, 
from the Greeks an eighth : the latter pay also an annual poll-tax, 
or Charatch ; the men 5f piastres, boys of ten years old and upwards 
about two. Besides these permanent taxes, extraordinary contributions 
are raised in time of war. The Vaivode or governor, the Janissaries, 
who are in garrison, and those who act as police guardians in the 
town, are paid by a tax levied on the vineyards ; from the Greeks 
eleven paras (or five-pence-halfpenny), are taken for every thousand 
vines ; from the Turks five. 

The harbour was full of ships under Ragusan, Austrian, and Turkish 
colours ; they were taking in cargoes of wine for the English expedition 
under Sir R. Abercrombie, at that time in Marmorice bay, opposite 
to Rhodes. The goverment had monopolized the whole vintage of 
the island, giving six paras and a half for the oke. 

The Greek church at Tenedos has lately been rebuilt, and although 
the imperial firman states that the favour had been granted by the 
mere good will of the Sultan, yet we found that it had cost the Greeks 
of the town 5000 piastres in bribes and fees to officers of the Porte. 
There are three officiating priests for this church, each of whom de- 
rives an income of about 350 piastres a-year, a hundred of which is 
taken from them by their diocesan, the Bishop of Mytilene. 

The Protoyero, or chief magistrate of the Greeks, is annually chosen 
by the inhabitants of that class ; and if his administration gives satis- 
faction, he is appointed a second time, or perhaps oftener. 

The general appearance of the island is unpicturesque and parched ; 
it abounds with few trees, and presents little verdure. We could 
find no traces of temples or ancient edifices. In the market-place 
near the port is a granite sarcophagus, now used as a cistern. On 
one side of it is an inscription, which was copied by Chandler. 



( HI ) 



REMARKS RESPECTING ATTICA, 

[FROM THE JOURNALS OF THE LATE DR. SIB THORP.] 



FROM THE HEGOUMENOS OF THE CONVENT OF PENDELI. 



The number of sheep and goats in Attica is computed at 160,000 ; of 
these the goats are 100,000, the sheep 60,000. During the winter 
months a wandering tribe of Nomads drive their flocks from the 
mountains of Thessaly into the plains of Attica and Bceotia, and 
give some pecuniary consideration to the Pasha of Negropont and 
Vaivode of Athens. These people are much famed for their 
woollen manufactures, particularly the coats or cloaks worn by the 
Greek sailors. 

Fifteen thousand goats and sheep are yearly killed in Attica ; of 
these 1 0*000 are goats. All, however, are not bred in that country ; 
many are brought from the neighbouring districts. Of the skins of 
the goats, those of 2000 of them are employed for sacks SepftxtM, for 
carrying wine, oil, and honey ; of the remaining 8000, the skins are 
bought by the tanners ; some of these, when tanned, are exported. 
The greater part is used in the country for making sandals, shoes, and 
boots. 

A good goat gives the same quantity of milk as a good ewe. The 
price of a goat is 100 paras ; of a kid, from 30 to 40 paras. They 
shear the goats at the same time with the sheep, about April or May. 
A goat generally gives 100 drachms of goat's hair, or the fourth part 
of an oke. The hair is all manufactured, and produces yearly 250 



I 



142 ATTICA. 

cantari, at 20 piastres the cantaro. It is worked into sacks, and bags, 
and carpets, of which a considerable quantity is exported. 

When the wool of the sheep is exported, a duty of 4 1 per cent, on 
the value is paid by the Rayah, but by a Frank only 3 per cent. The 
sheep's milk is mixed with that of the goats, and used for cheese or 
butter; a small quantity of the latter is made principally in the 
month of April or May. The cows are kept chiefly for breeding. A 
good sheep will yield from an oke and a half to two okes of wool : 
the price of one is three piastres ; that of a lamb 60 paras. The wool 
is made into capots, bags, and carpets, by the Albanese. The uVp«* 
or itch, to which the sheep are subject, is cured by taking the refuse 
of oil ; this is warmed and rubbed On the animal ; tar or Katrami is 
then applied. The sheep are particularly fond of the herbs called 
/3po'u/Sa, and after the grapes are gathered, the flocks are driven into 
the vineyards to crop the leaves, but no injury is supposed to be done 
to the vines. 

Five shepherds are sufficient for a thousand sheep ; the pay of the 
shepherd is 40 piasters, with board and sandals. The flocks are large ; 
some contain 1000 sheep. Where the flock is numerous, they do 
not mix the sheep with the goats. During the months of January, 
February, and March, the sheep are kept in the Mandria, and driven 
out only during the day to feed. The severity of the winter some- 
times proves destructive to the flocks. The shepherds and the dogs 
are in general a sufficient protection against the wolves. The dogs of 
the Hegoumenos of Pendeli are remarkably fierce; they are about 60: 
40 of them keep his flock, consisting of 6000 goats and sheep ; the 
remaining 20 accompany the horses and oxen. 

To make the cheese, they turn the milk with the rennet, or -j-Peetya, 



* Among the cures of the \J/w'p« (scabies), in the Geoponica, we find mention made of 
an ointment of oil and sulphur, p. 457- The wool is shorn off from the part affected, 
to weTTOvdos. 

f This is the ancient word, 7t>)tu«, coagulum, ea pars viscerum qua ad densandum lac 
utimur. Nizolius. The best rennet according to the Geoponica, lib. xviii. p. 459. is 
from the goat: but Columella mentions that of the lamb. Lac plerumque cogitur agni 
aut haedi coagulo, quamvis possit et agrestis cardui flore conduci. 267. I quote the latter 
part of the passage, because it illustrates a remark in Shaw, p. 168. " Instead of rennet, 



ATTICA. 



143 



as they call it, taken from the intestines of a lamb. The curd is 
separated from the whey, put into a form, and pressed ; some salt is 
then sprinkled upon it. The cheeses will continue sound for five 
years. To make the butter, they take the whey separated from the 
curd which was used in making the cheese ; this is mixed with a 
large quantity of milk, then scalded over the fire. The cream which 
rises is skimmed off, and beat or pressed in a large copper boiler, with 
the feet. The scalded cream is called Kaimak. * 

The first year the calf is called uorxupt, the female ^off-^ira; the male 
the second year is $a>pctXi<;, which name it retains until the fourth year, 
when it is called @6ji ; the bull is rau^og. Only those oxen are killed 
which are unfit for labour ; the number may amount in the year to 
about 200. The labouring oxen are computed at 3000. The num- 
ber of cows is something less ; they are not milked, but kept only for 
breeding. In winter they are fed on straw. A good cow is worth 
12 piastres ; calves are rarely killed, f Four or eight oxen are suffi- 
cient for 100 stremata of land, according to the nature of the soil, 
whether it be light or heavy. They are kept out during the summer; 
in the winter they are put into the stalls, until the 10th of March. 
A good ox, at six years old, is worth 50 piastres. 

Oct. 15. 1794. — At the Piraeus, while I was collecting the seeds of 
some plants, the Haliaetos shot down with wonderful velocity, and 
seizing a fish, carried it in its talons high in the air, devouring it in 
its flight. The halcyon flew across the bay, and the sea-lark ran 
along the wet beach. The ground rose with a gentle ascent on a 
free-stone rock ; the rough lands which followed were covered with 
Hedysarum^: Alhagi, Passerina Hirsuta, and a beautiful species of 



especially in the summer season, they turn the milk with the flowers of the great-headed 
thistle, or wild artichoke. — E. 

* Kaimak is the word used in all parts of the Levant. The Arabic receipt for making 
it is given in a translation in Russell's Aleppo, i. 370. 

f Veal is seldom brought to the table in any part of Turkey. Beef is sometimes killed 
for the market. In Syria the flesh of the buffalo is occasionally eaten. 

t ^ is u P on this plant that manna is found in Mesopotamia. — Russell's Aleppo, ii. 259. 



144 



ATTICA. 



Echinops : a rich plain, planted with vines and olives, then extended 
within a mile of Athens. A narrow road conducted us through the 
plain on which were the evident traces of an ancient wall, occasionally 
fenced off with hedges of Atriplex Halimus and Lycium Europaeum ; 
the wild caper bush was also very common on the sides of the road ; 
some fallow grounds succeeded to the olive gardens, on which a few 
women were busy in collecting a favourite sallad "Ev^upov. 

Oct 19. — We obtained from Logotheti some information concern- 
ing the present state of Attica. The country of Attica is divided into 
four districts, namely, Messoia, Catta Lama, Eleusina, with Mount 
Casha; and the territory of the city of Athens. * These districts con- 
tain about 60 towns or villages, and about 12,000 inhabitants ; nearly 
1000 of these are Turks, and 5000 pay Charatch ; the rest are women 
or children under the age of twelve years. The Charatch is divided 
into three ratios, which are taken according to the property of the 
person taxed ; the first includes those of the largest property, they 
pay eleven piastres ; the next in consequence half of that sum ; those 
of the last division, which includes the poorest persons in Attica, pay 
100 paras. Among the lower class of Athenians there are many, 
who, notwithstanding their oppressed state, enjoy certain consequence 
and property ; they possess each a house and garden, a vineyard con- 
taining at least a strema of land, with a score of olive trees and some 
bee-hives; and the olive grounds of the large proprietors furnish them 
during the winter months with constant employment. The season 
for gathering the olives begins in October, and continues until Febru- 
ary, during which period they take at least 25,000 piastres. A man 



* " The number of houses in the city tenanted at present (1795) is about 1G00. This, 
at five persons to a house, makes 8000 inhabitants, which exceeds half the population of 
all Attica. But it is necessary to remark that about 2500 persons, chiefly Turks, had 
been carried off in the two last plagues, and that numbers had been forced by the cruelty 
and exactions of Ali Aga to emigrate. 

" In 1797, 250 fugitive Albanian families had returned in consequence of the execution 
of that person. 

" The population of Athens in 1751-2, according to Stuart, was between 9 and 10,000 
souls; four-fifths of whom were Christians." Note from Mr. Hawkins's Journal. 



ATTICA. 



145 



is paid 20 paras, women and boys 10 paras each, for a day's labour. 
The forementioned districts have a Soubashi and Scrivano attached 
separately to them. The Scrivano is a kind of bailiff who takes an 
account of what is received or due. The rights of the Vaivode are 
a tenth of all the corn that is reaped ; the vineyards, the cotton, mad- 
der, and garden grounds, pay only a composition of eight paras the 
strema. The strema contains as much ground as is contained within 
40 square paces. A proprietor purchases so many stremata or mea- 
sures of land ; he then builds cottages, in which he puts as tenants, 
industrious peasants. He furnishes them with cattle and seed-corn, 
and they supply labour. When the harvest is made, the tenth portion 
is taken by the Soubashi for the Vaivode ; the remainder is divided 
into three portions, of these the oi&ompog or proprietor, takes two, 
and only one goes to the tenant ; but if the latter has cattle and a 
house of his own, which is frequently the case, he then divides with 
the proprietor, and takes an equal share. The villages differ much in 
respect to the number of houses, and the size of the farms ; some 
farms consist only of a few zevgaria, others of several. Each zevgari 
contains 350 stremata ; they plough with two oxen. The price of 
wheat, which was at present high, was five piastres the kilo ; the kilo 
weighs about 25 okes, and the oke is 400 Greek drachms. The price 
of wheat is extremely variable ; in plentiful years it is sold so low as 
two piastres the kilo* ; and in great scarcity it has been sold at six 
piastres. But the richest produce of Attica is the oil, of which it is 
computed that it yields 20,000 measures annually ; the measure is 
five okes and a half ; each measure sells at present at 100 paras. A 
considerable quantity of madder is cultivated, and some cotton ; the 
latter was selling in the Bazar at 15 paras the oke. The proprietors 
of Attica have been extremely oppressed by the tyranny of Hadje-Ali 
Aga. He has seized, by the most nefarious means, a fifth part of the 



* Eight kiloes and a half make a quarter of wheat. 

U 



146 



ATTICA. 



lands of Attica, forcing the little proprietors to sell him their posses- 
sions at his own price. 

Oct. 22. — We walked to the hill of Anchesmus. The heavy rains 
which had fallen permitted the husbandman to stir the ground. Hav- 
ing passed the walls of the city we found a peasant ploughing with two 
oxen ; the plough, aAsrp;, which he held, had only one handle %ep* ; 
it had two earth-boards <7rotpott3o\y.; a sharp iron share — . * Adjoining 
the handle was a piece of wood toovSvvpt ; the pole consisted of two 
pieces, the lower one was called trrufBapt; the upper one ^Aa-no-jita. 
At the end of the pole was an iron ring «oXXoupa:, the bar and the 
two collars fsvyeu. The pieces of wood which formed the plough 
were fastened together by a large nail a-naGl which was traversed by 
a smaller nail. The soil j • was light and rich, and ploughed into 
small ridges and furrows, each not more than a foot broad. We 
advanced towards the hill ; the rain had washed away the soil, and 
discovered a Roman pavement composed of small cubic pieces of 
marble. The thyme of the ancients ^ap<, and the hairy Passerina, 
were the most common plants. The sweet-scented Cyclamen, and 
the yellow Amaryllis, were in flower. A number of Helices concealed 
themselves in the crevices of the rock, and I found what the conch- 
ologists consider a great rarity, the Helix decollata with the head 
on. From the summit of Anchesmus we had a full view of Athens ; 
the walls of the city did not appear more than two miles in circuit. 

Oct. 23. — We walked out in the afternoon to the supposed site of 
the Academy ; the spot is known at present by the name Acathymia ; 
it is a low hill about a mile to the north of the city. Among the 
olive groves, which are composed of large and ancient trees, we met 



* The word in Dr. S.'s journals resembles jBovvr, but in Mr. Hawkins it is correctly 
written Ivvij corrupted from "Tvvi;, Vomer. The different parts of the plough cf the ancient 
Greeks fof/wj, yurjc, hxupx, 8ms and b^stXyi are examined by Mongez. Mem. de l'Instit. 1815. 

f The mode of threshing the corn, as practised by the people of Attica, is described in 
an extract from the journal of the Earl of Aberdeen. See the note which follows Dr. Sib- 
thorp's remarks. 



ATTICA. 



147 



a shepherd playing upon a pastoral flute, a single piece of the donax, 
about a foot long ; the note was very pleasing. The husbandmen 
were now preparing the ground for the seed-corn, and with instru- 
ments like our pick-axes, x%tvwi pulverized the clods. We walked 
from the Acathymia to a small villa of the Consul's under the hill, 
called Turko Bouni ; it was surrounded by a vineyard, contained 
three stremata, and was purchased for 100 piastres. We saw adjoin- 
ing to it a rich piece of ground, containing nearly an acre, which had 
lately been bought for 50 piastres. The low price of land, and the 
misery every where apparent through the city and its neighbourhood, 
were strong evidences of the despotism which prevailed. I saw some 
hedges planted with the Cactus opuntia, called 'Apxfioa-vxi, Arabian, 
or Indian fig, a sufficient proof that it is not a native plant but intro- 
duced from the east. I picked up the Aloe perfoliata in the streets 
of Athens ; it was still called Axo??* : toasted before the fire the Alba- 
nian women applied it to swellings of the neck. The plain of 
Athens, if we except the olive tree, is extremely destitute of wood, 
and we observed on our return the peasants driving home their asses 
laden with Passerina hirsuta for fuel. 

Oct. 24. — Logotheti called upon us in the morning, and conducted 
us to a tanner's, where was explained to us the process of dyeing the 
black and yellow leathers ; the red was not made in this manufactory. 
The hair or wool being taken off the skin by its being soaked in a 
strong solution of lime-water, it was then put into a second, and after- 
wards into a third solution ; it was next rubbed with dogs' dung. 
After this process, if the intention was to dye it black, it was put into 
a lixivium made by mixing powdered Balanida with boiling water, 
which is cooled by pouring in cold ; the skin is then put into it, 
and remains steeped some time before it has acquired a due degree 
of ■ astringency or toughness. It is taken out and dried, and being 



* The medicinal uses of the aloe are mentioned in Dioscorides, lib. hi. c. 25. Roasted 
in an earthen pot it was employed for complaints in the eyes. Mixed with wine and 
honey it was applied to disorders in the jaws, and tonsils, and mouth. 

u 2 



148 



ATTICA. 



greased with suet or animal fat is exposed to the sun. After this 
process it is coloured by being rubbed with powdered martial vitriol. 
The skin is polished by being stretched on a horse made of box- 
wood, on which it is rubbed backwards and forwards with a roller 
made of the same wood. The skin, when dressed, is worth from 40 
to 50 paras the oke. The Balanida is brought from Eleusis, and sold 
at three paras the oke. 

In dyeing the yellow colour, the leaves of the Rhus coriaria are 
used as the astringent instead of the Balanida ; this is called Povh ; is 
brought from Samos, and is sold at ten paras the oke. The leaves 
should be gathered before the tree ripens its fruit, as they then possess 
their astringent virtue in a superior degree. The skin being pre- 
pared is put into a vat of boiling water with the powdered grains 
d' Avignon, or the seeds of the Rhamnus infectorius ; a sufficient 
quantity is used to give to the water the consistency of a paste. The 
skin remains in the lixivium until the water is cold, it is then rubbed 
with the hand, until it is sufficiently coloured. The waters of Athens 
contain a considerable quantity of salt ; the rain water, and that of 
the rivers, particularly the Cephissus, are preferred. In our return 
home we passed by a dyer's, Ba£>ij«-, parcels of yarn, dyed of different 
colours, were hanging at his door, blue, yellow, green and red ; the 
blue was dyed with indigo ; the yellow with grains d' Avignon ; an 
orange colour was drawn from the Chrysoxylon. This is the wood 
of the Rhus cotinus found in the mountains about Marathon and 
Pendeli, and is brought to the dyers by the Albanians, of whom it is 
purchased at two paras the oke. The green is made by the yarn being 
first dipped in a solution of indigo, then afterwards in that of grains 
d' Avignon. A violet colour is drawn from a wood called BxKKxftijippwo$ 
and a red colour from the Bockku^ixokkivo ; the last is sold at a high 
price. Cochineal is also used in dyeing the silks ; this is purchased 
at forty piastres the oke. No use is here made of the Kermes, 
though it is collected in small quantities in the district of Casha ; it 
is gathered in abundance in the Morea, where it is called tt^vokokki. 



ATTICA. 



149 



Nov. 3. — Leaving the hill of Anchesmus, and the monastery of 
Asomato on our left, we passed along the banks of the Ilissus. The 
bed was narrow, dry, and frequently choaked with stones ; is was 
fringed with the Oleander and Agnus castus. Not far from the base 
of the mountain it divided, and one of its branches was dignified for- 
merly with the celebrated name of Eridanus. After an hour's ride 
we arrived at the monastery, which presented a melancholy appear- 
ance. I took a young Calojer for my guide to the top of the 
mountain. Having left the olive grounds, we found the rock at first 
thinly covered with the Kermes oak, the Spartium Scorpius, and 
Spinosum, mixed with Satureia Thymbra and Capitata, the latter of 
which is the celebrated thyme of the ancients, their Thymbra. I 
observed some strata of marble of a white colour, almost rivalling in 
beauty that of Pendeli. Though Hymettus was barren of plants, I 
had not advanced far up the mountain before I was gratified with the 
discovery of a new species of Colchicum, now in full flower. I saw 
the beautiful Persian Cyclamen under the shelves of the rocks, and 
towards the highest parts the vernal crocus was just opening its blos- 
soms. The day was fine and the atmosphere remarkably clear ; from 
the summit I commanded an extensive view of the Straits of Negro- 
pont, and various of the Cyclades ; the eastern coast of Attica, with 
its numerous ports stretching to Cape Colonna ; the Saronic gulph, 
with islands interspersed in it ; the rich plain of Messoia and Athens, 
with its city and groves of olives ; the mountains of Pendeli and Par- 
nes in Attica, and of Cithaeron in Bceotia. A flock of goats and 
sheep appeared hanging over the cliffs, and two eagles soared over 
the summit. Hymettus cannot be ranked among the highest moun- 
tains of Greece ; its height is less than that of Parnes, and nearly the 
same with that of Pendeli ; not sheltered by woods, it is exposed to 
the winds, and has a sun-burnt appearance. The neglected state of 
the monastery arose from the debts which it had contracted ; these, 
in some measure, had been lately paid by the See of Athens, to which 
the revenues of the monastery belonged. The honey made in it was 
the property of the Bishop ; and the Caloyers were so poor and so 



150 



ATTIGA. 



strictly watched, that they could not procure me even a taste of it. 
The solitary sparrow flew along the walls, and thrushes and black- 
birds seemed almost unmolested in the olive grounds. 



The following extract from Dr. Sibthorp's Journals relating to part of 

Attica may be inserted here. 

" July 24. — We anchored in the port of Sunium. At present this 
famous promontory of Attica affords neither inhabitants nor cultiva- 
tion. I saw here partridges, hares, and a small species of black hawk 
flew frequent near the ground. Our sailors caught two species of the 
Labrus, different from the L. Iulis, which I suspect to be new ; one 
uncommonly beautiful, with three deep transverse red stripes, called 
by the Greeks "HXic. The country about the cape was covered with 
low mastic bushes, and here and there some scattered trees of the 
Pinus Pinea, which Chandler seems to have mistaken for cedars ; 
these, though frequently mentioned by that traveller, never grew 
wild in Greece." — Dr. S. 



Note, from the Earl of Aberdeen' s Journal, referred to in page 146". 

" Bailey is chiefly cultivated in Attica, and the plain of Thria is still somewhat supe- 
rior in fertility to the other districts of the country. 

" It is the practice to turn the horses out into the green barley.* This is done in the 
month of May ; at that time the fields are seen full of horses and asses, tied each to a 



* In the spring season, in parts of Syria, the horses are fed forty or fifty days with green bar- 
ley, cut as soon as the corn begins to ear. The horses of the grandees are frequently tied down 
in the barley-field, being confined to a certain circuit by a long tedder. Grazing is reckoned to 
be of great service to the health of the horses, and produces a beautiful gloss on the skin. Russell's 
Aleppo, ii. 178. Lucerne is also cultivated for the use of the horses; oats are not given to them. 
Some fields of this grain were observed by Russel about Antioch and on the sea-coast, but they 
were not cultivated near Aleppo. Bpu^t, or oats, were seen in Boeotia, by Dr. Sibthorp. 



ATTICA. 



151 



separate spot by the foot. They eat all the barley within the extent of their cord, and 
after that their position is changed : thus the whole of the field is equally benefited by the 
manure of the animal. The grain having been sown after the first rains in October or 
November, is at this time of considerable growth. The horses continue in the fields about 
a month; if, at the end of that period, there remains any thing uneaten, it is plucked up, 
and preserved as hay. 

" The field being now free, the earth is broken by a plough of the most simple construc- 
tion, and is sown with cotton ; to cover this seed, the labourer fastens a strait plank be- 
hind two oxen, upon which he stands, and holding the reins in his hands he is thus drawn 
across all the furrows, until the whole be closed up and the seed secure. 

" They begin to reap this cotton early in September, after which the land is again 
ploughed and sown with barley. In the following month of June, they either cut or 
pluck* up the crop, which is carried to a place more or less near to the field ; sometimes 
paved, but more commonly the surface is only made flat, the earth in the neighbourhood 
of Athens being extremely hard. There, when all the crop is collected, a number of mares 
are brought from the hills in order to thresh it, which is effected in the following manner : 

" In the middle of the place a post is erected, and to it is fastened a cord, at the other 
end of which the heads of two, three, four, and sometimes six of these mares are fastened. 
A man standing in the middle of the place makes them trot in a circular direction until 
the cord is completely twisted round the post, and in consequence the animals brought 
close to it; he then makes them return, and by gradually untwisting the cord, extend the 
circle. By these means, the corn being kept by another man under their feet, is equally 
threshed, and the straw at the same time cut, for the mares are shod for this purpose. The 
grain being separated from the chaff by throwing it in the air, it is gathered into heaps, 
and the guards, some of whom always watch the progress of the work, affix the seal ; that 
is to say, each heap is surrounded by four planks, on which the name of the Aga who is 
the proprietor of the tythes, is cut ; and until the Aga has first taken his right, none of the 
grain is allowed to be carried into the town or removed from the spot. 

" The harvest being over, the mares and a great many labourers go to Thebes, where 
they proceed in the same manner. In the heavy and moist land of Bceotia the corn is 
later in ripening ; and therefore many of the labourers are doubly employed. 

" When the whole is finished, the shoes are taken off the mares, and they, with their 
young, are turned loose upon the mountains, until the next year." 



*" Wheat and barley, in general, do not grow half so high as in Britain, and are therefore not 
reaped with the sickle like other grain, but plucked up with the root by the hand. — Russell's 
Aleppo, i. 75. 



( 152 ) 



LETTERS 

FROM 

THE LATE PROFESSOR CARLYLE 

TO 

THE LORD BISHOP OF LINCOLN. 



LETTER I. 

My Lord, Larnica, Cyprus, Feb. 13, 1800. 

I had hoped long before this time to have been able to communicate 
to your Lordship some intelligence respecting the library of the 
Seraglio ; I had even nattered myself from the reception we met with 
that I should have made a considerable progress in examining its 
contents. But I know not how it has happened, whether from the 
pressure of public business, or from whatever other cause, during the 
first two months of my stay in Constantinople, I was not able to get 
any thing done towards facilitating my admission into the library. 
In the middle of January the plague broke out in the Seraglio with 
considerable violence ; an entire stop was, of course, put to any in- 
vestigations I might wish to make within its precincts for some time. 
I trust, however, as the present Sultan is extremely apprehensive of 
the disorder himself, and willing to take any precautions that may be 
thought proper for preventing its progress, that the distemper will not 
become general, and then I shall soon have an opportunity of prose- 
cuting my researches in earnest. As I was thus precluded from 
employing myself at Constantinople to any material purpose (for I 
could no longer with safety frequent even the public libraries from 
which I had previously, I trust, drawn considerable information in 
Oriental literature), I resolved not to waste my time at Pera. I 



LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR CARLYLE. 



153 



therefore with the greatest pleasure embraced the offer General 
Koeler was so good as to make me of accompanying him across Asia 
Minor to the coast of Syria. 

Your Lordship will see from the date of this letter that we have 
completed our tour so far, and, I trust, a few days will now conduct 
me to the end of my journey. Our expedition has indeed been a 
most interesting one, as great part of it was through a country for 
many ages entirely unexplored by Europeans, and now only opened 
on account of the rebellions which prevail in most of the provinces 
through which the common route ran. The part I allude to in par- 
ticular is from the ancient Iconium to the sea-port where we took 
shipping for Cyprus, through the countries of Lycaonia, Isauria, and 
Cilicia. I need scarce inform your Lordship, that we have experi- 
enced considerable difficulties in travelling ; but I assure you when 
there were the greatest I did not for a moment regret my undertak- 
ing. In many places, especially in the neighbourhood of the ancient 
Laodicea Combusta, Olba, and Celenderis, we absolutely trod upon 
Grecian sculptures, columns, altars, and inscriptions, for miles. In 
different parts of our journey we found quantities of the most beauti- 
ful marble sarcophagi lying scattered on the ground. We found also 
the remains of several temples, with a sufficient number of their pil- 
lars cemaining to ascertain the spot and dimensions of the buildings. 
At Celenderis a mausoleum of beautiful Corinthian architecture is 
still standing almost entire, surrounded by catacombs, Mosaic pave- 
ments, and sarcophagi. An aqueduct, not ill preserved, runs along 
the hill behind it, and the whole appears nearly in the situation it was 
fifteen or sixteen centuries ago. In Phrygia, too, we saw some monu- 
ments which appeared to me even more curious than these Grecian 
remains. They consist of excavations out of the rock, which form 
the most elegant mausolea one can conceive. A little romantic val- 
ley (exactly such an one as Johnson has imagined in his Rasselas) has 
one of its sides almost entirely covered with these sculptured and 
excavated rocks. Some of these monuments are very large and mag- 
nificent, and very much resemble the representations we have of the 



x 



154 



LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR CARLYLE 



tombs of the Persian Kings cut out of the rock in the vicinity of Per- 
sepolis. Upon one of those immense catacombs are two inscrip- 
tions in Greek characters, which, from the form of the letters, must 
have been considerably anterior to the time of Alexander. General 
Koeler made sketches of most of the things we passed which seemed 
deserving of attention, and he has been so good as to promise me 
copies of all of them. The gentlemen who were with him, Major 
Fletcher and Captain Leake, together with myself, were employed in 
measuring and taking those inscriptions we could get access to ; so 
that I trust (as I have kept a very minute journal of every thing that 
took place) our three weeks tour will not be uninteresting. But, my 
Lord, while we were employed and amused with these investigations, 
it was impossible not to feel melancholy at the sight of the once fertile 
and populous countries we travelled over ; they are now almost a 
desert, and must remain in this situation as long as the present system 
of government prevails amongst them. Every little Aga of a village is 
an independent prince, and generally at war with all his neighbours. 
Hence the people are obliged to live in towns, and about these alone can 
any cultivation take place. If by any accident one of these towns is 
destroyed or depopulated, it is destroyed for ever, and the cultivation 
around it immediately closes. Thus, by degrees, all these fine plains 
are becoming absolutely wastes. We travelled over one which was 
at least 200 miles in length, and from fifteen to twenty miles in 
breadth ; a surface, I believe, equal to one half of Yorkshire, and 
consisting of the richest land that can be desired for agriculture. 
The whole of the inhabitants of this large tract of country, where the 
corn yields upwards of twenty for one, certainly do not amount to 
above twenty-seven or twenty-eight thousand persons, of which two- 
thirds are contained in the towns of Coniah and Caraman. The isle 
in which we now are seems to have suffered less from the blighting 
influence of Turkish power than most other parts of the empire ; but 
I cannot think that it contains at present one-fourth of the inhabitants 
it is capable of supporting, and I fear these are rapidly diminishing in 
number. I purpose spending a couple of weeks in Palestine, where 



TO THE BISHOP OF LINCOLN. 



155 



my recommendations from the Patriarchs, together with Sir Sidney 
Smith's good offices, will, I trust, enable me to investigate every 
thing I think proper, and particularly the libraries of some of the 
convents of Jerusalem, which, I am informed, contain very old manu- 
scripts of the New Testament. I shall have an opportunity also of 
seeing with my own eyes some of those countries which make the 
greatest figure in the histories of the Crusades, a period which I be- 
lieve I informed your Lordship I had some thoughts of endeavouring 
to elucidate by means of the Oriental writers. 

I have the honor to be, &c. &c. 

J. D. Carlyle. 



LETTER II. 

My Lord, Jaffa, April 10. 1800. 

When I wrote to Your Lordship from Cyprus, I trusted before this 
time to have been returned to Constantinople, hut so many things 
have occurred to interrupt my journey, that it will be some weeks yet 
before I can arrive there ; however, I do not by any means regret my 
having made a little longer stay in this part of the world than I origi- 
nally intended, as it has given me an opportunity of judging by my 
own observation of the present situation of affairs here at this interest- 
ing period, and of communicating them to your Lordship. I sailed 
with Sir Sidney Smith soon after I wrote to your Lordship, with the 
hopes of being admitted by means of the supposed convention to take 
a transient view of Egypt, and to proceed from thence immediately 
to Syria. A little after we arrived off Alexandria, we received the 
intelligence that our government would not permit the treaty signed 
between the Turks and French to be carried into effect, or at least 
had given such orders as put a stop to it for the present. As they 
had both acted upon this treaty, the latter having evacuated all their 
frontier towns to the former, who had advanced to within seven miles 
of Cairo; and as the Turks demanded possession of the palace at the 

x 2 



156 



LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR CARLYLE 



day mentioned in the treaty,, which the French, not being allowed to 
leave the country upon the terms they expected, refused to accede to, 
we saw that hostilities must inevitably take place between the two 
parties, and we were but too certain of the issue of the combat. Every 
thing that we feared has happened. The French, with between 
twelve and fifteen thousand men, attacked the Turks (who had at least 
four times the number) upon the morning of the 20th of March. 
The Turks fled in a moment without attempting to make a stand, and 
were pursued by the French to the confines of the Desert. The pur- 
suit continued for three days, in the course of which and in their 
passage over the Desert the Turks have lost, it is said, upwards of 
10,000 men : the rest of the army, except about five or six thousand 
who are here with the Vizier, are totally, and I doubt irremediably 
dispersed. I do not enter into any military particulars of this melan- 
choly event, as your Lordship will be informed of them from other 
quarters, where they will be sufficiently detailed, and with much more 
precision than I can pretend to. But as I have since been at Alexan- 
dria, and seen the French Generals and army there, I would wish to 
give your Lordship as just an account as I could of the situation in 
which I found them. I went on shore at Alexandria with a flag of 
truce this day se'ennight, along with an officer from Sir Sidney 
Smith. We were received by General la Nuet, and the other 
great men there, Messrs. Julien, Tallien, Vial, &c. with the utmost 
politeness. They gave us a very handsome dinner, in which every 
thing was well served, and they seemed (but I believe this was rather 
an exhibition to us) to have no want of wine or liquors. They ap- 
peared little elevated with their victory over the Turks, as they 
thought it might tend to fix them longer in the country, to leave 
which they made no scruple of saying was their great wish. They 
all, however, declared that they would never think of quitting it upon 
dishonorable terms. After dinner I was shown the antiquities of the 
place, &c. ; and I had an opportunity, by crossing the parade, of see- 
ing the greatest number of their troops. These amounted, I was 
told, to near 3000 : and, indeed, I never saw a finer set of men in my 



i 



TO THE BISHOP OF LINCOLN. 



157 



life. They were almost all of them young, and apparently very 
healthy. Their clothes, however, were made chiefly of the cotton of 
the country, and many of them were in a ragged condition. I am 
informed by Captain Lacey, the only British officer who accompanied 
the Grand Vizier's army, that the troops of General Kleber were in 
no respect inferior to those I had seen at Alexandria, all of them be- 
ing in the highest state of discipline, and showing every mark of 
activity. Against forces like these it is unnecessary to say to your 
Lordship that Turkish troops and Turkish commanders can have 
small chance of even making any head. The soldiers did not stand a 
single fire ; and one trait will be sufficient to exemplify the ability of 
the Ottoman General. When the artillery was to be used, it waa dis- 
covered that the ammunition had been left behind at Arish ! ! Your 
Lordship will perhaps think my account of the present situation of 
the French very different from what is intimated in their own inter- 
cepted letters : certainly every thing there is much exaggerated. 
Poussielgue himself (whom I was with for ten days on board the 
Tigre) declared that these accounts were meant to induce the French 
Government to consent to the evacuation of Egypt ; but how far your 
Lordship may judge such a testimony to be relied on, I pretend not 
to say. Undoubtedly the French army is in a very formidable state ; 
they have plenty of corn, poultry, mutton, and vegetables. They 
now make very tolerable sugar, and of course they cannot be long at 
a loss for rum. They already extract a spirit from dates, but it is 
very indifferent. They told me, they had succeeded in making gun- 
powder ; and they have set up manufactories of cloth, &c. Buonaparte's 
wild manifesto, as well as his subsequent conduct, incensed all the 
Christians of the country against him, without procuring him one 
friend amongst the Mahomedans. I fear Kleber is pursuing a more 
prudent line of conduct ; but I trust he will not have time to produce 
any permanent effect upon the minds of the inhabitants. It is very 
evident that he, as well as all the leaders, is beyond measure im- 
patient to return to France, much more so, in my opinion, than any 
inconveniences which they suffer in Egypt can possibly justify. 



158 LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR CARLYLE 

They are all of them however, I think, clearly inimical to their 
late General, and I could not help noticing that scarce one of them 
at Alexandria who appeared like a gentleman, wore the three 
coloured cockade. I have been to-day in the Turkish camp near 
this place. They knew that I was an Englishman, but I am sorry 
to say that at present, they scarce either treat or consider the 
English as their friends. They accuse us as the cause of the defeat 
they have just received, and are not sparing in insult and abuse. 
The poor Grand Vizier is quite in despair, and means to return by 
land to Constantinople, thoroughly convinced that his present army 
is incapable of ever effecting any thing against the French. I sincerely 
hope he may be able to raise another which may be more efficient, 
I mean of Turks; for the Mamelukes have undoubtedly fought most 
gallantly during the whole of this contest ; and I am glad to find, 
even from the account given by the French themselves, that their 
numbers are very little reduced, and that they watch every 
opportunity of attacking the enemy that presents itself. When 
Kleber marched from Cairo against the Vizier, Mourad Bey imme- 
diately rushed down from the mountains in the neighbourhood and 
got possession of the city, and he still remained master of it when 
I was at Alexandria, although the French retained the citadel in 
their hands. I believe this is the first letter I have written, and I 
trust it will be the last letter I shall write on any political subject ; 
but I thought the information I could give upon the present 
occasion would not be unacceptable to Your Lordship, as there has 
no other Englishman been permitted to go into Egypt with so little 
reserve since it has been in possession of the French. Indeed they 
offered me an escort to conduct me to Cairo, but in the present 
situation of that place, they scarce thought it safe for me to 
make the attempt ; this, together with knowing that the plague 
raged in most parts of the country, obliged me to decline their 
offer. I had an opportunity however of seeing their Scavans, and 
hearing a full and very interesting account of their discoveries. I 
confess I could not look at these poor men without a great deal of 



TO THE BISHOP OF LINCOLN. 



159 



pity ; they had been carried off by surprise ; they have undergone 
innumerable hardships ; many of them are advanced in years ; and 
I fancy they are very poorly supplied with any comforts or con- 
veniences. To add to all this, they are execrated by the army, 
(who consider them as the primary cause of all their mis- 
fortunes,) and they live in continual apprehensions from the plague, 
which at present is but too prevalent in Alexandria. I hope, how- 
ever, they have not been idle during their stay in Egypt ; they 
assured me that most accurate surveys and drawings had been 
made of all the principal Egyptian antiquities ; they had spent 
twenty-five days at Thebes alone, guarded by a detachment of the 
army, during which time they had an opportunity of copying at 
their leisure every thing that appeared interesting. They spoke 
however of these remains as being trifling to what are found at 
Dendera. Geoffroy their naturalist has made a very complete 
collection of Egyptian zoology ; he has promised to endeavour to 
obtain all the vernacular names * of the several animals, &c, and 
to write these along with the Linnagan. If this be performed 
properly it will afford us a more satisfactory Hierozoicon than any 
hitherto published, as I have little doubt but many of the Hebrew 
names still lurk undiscovered in the Coptic, Sahidic, and vulgar 
Arabic languages. One great object of my own journey into Syria, 
was to endeavour to find some intelligent person who could give 
me information upon this head, which I need not say to Your 
Lordship would throw more light upon many parts of the Levitical 
law, than any other species of criticism, if I may call Natural 
History by such a term ; and I am still led to hope that I shall not 
be entirely disappointed in my expectations of meeting with persons 
of this description. My voyage has added much to my Arabic 
literature, as I had for my companions a prince of the Druses and 



* " The names of animals and plants by which they are called in Eastern countries," 
says Shaw, " would be of great assistance, as some of them it may be presumed continue 
to be the very same, while others maybe derivative from the originals." — Travels, p. 422. 



160 



LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR CARLYLE 



his secretary, to whom the Arabic was their native tongue. I am 
very impatient however to return to Constantinople, as by this time, 
if at all, I trust permission may have been obtained to enter the 
library of the Seraglio, and the season of the year will have de- 
stroyed every appearance of plague. Most happy shall I be to 
protract my stay a while if we can discover any thing worthy of in- 
vestigation ; but if that should not be the case, I do not imagine 
I shall meet with many other objects that can induce me to continue 
long at Constantinople. Notwithstanding the impatience which an 
Englishman with my long English habits must feel of returning to 
England, I shall not however leave that city till I have obtained all 
the literary information in my power. If there be any thing that 
strikes Your Lordship as proper for me particularly to attend to, I 
should be most happy to receive a hint upon the subject. 

I have the honor to be, &c. &c. 

J. D. Carlyle. 



LETTER III. 

My Lord, Boyukdere, near Constantinople, July 23. 1800. 

1 flatter myself you will not be wholly uninterested in hearing 
that I am again arrived at Lord Elgin's in health and safety. I re- 
ceived the letter you honored me with at Constantinople, and I need 
not say that I was most highly gratified in finding that what I had 
done, respecting the Arabian Livy, met with the approbation of Your 
Lordship and Mr. Pitt. I trust no exertions of my own will ever be 
wanting towards prosecuting the great object of my mission, but I 
dare not allow myself to entertain any sanguine expectations of its 
success. The Ministers hitherto have denied the existence of any re- 
pository of MSS., but the Reis Effendi, through whom this commu- 



TO THE BISHOP OF LINCOLN. 



161 



nication came, was a man in every respect so weak and ignorant, that 
no literary information could possibly be hoped for through such a 
channel. A few days ago he was displaced, and Chelebi Effendi, 
without dispute the most intelligent as well as the most enlightened 
man in the empire, appointed in his room. If the business, there- 
fore, be at all practicable, this is the moment for accomplishing it ; and 
Lord Elgin promises me that he will seriously set about bringing 
the matter to a conclusion without delay, being confident from Chelebi 
Effendi's character, that that Minister is both properly acquainted 
with every circumstance respecting such a library if it exists ; and 
that he will have the candour to say fairly whether it be or be not 
possible to gain admittance into it. Your Lordship will suppose that 
I have not been deficient in making all the inquiries in my power in 
order to discover whatever I could relative to this mysterious library. 
It is impossible to conceive any thing more vague and various than 
the information I received. The cause of this contrariety of opinion, 
however, I imagine to be founded on mistake. That there does exist 
a library in the Seraglio is certain ; but from all I can gather, this is 
only of modern formation, and consists merely of Oriental books. 
Lito it I have little doubt of being admitted ; but whether there be 
any older collection of MSS. in the Seraglio is a different question. I 
have been informed by this very Chelebi Effendi's secretary (a person 
of considerable literature), that " he himself, with five others, were 
employed a few years ago in searching for some ancient records which 
were deposited in the Seraglio ; they were introduced every day by 
the eunuchs of the palace, and they continued their search for six 
months, during all which time, though they turned over most of the 
papers belonging to the empire, they did not meet with any thing 
like a Greek or Latin MS." On the other hand there undoubtedly 
exists a building near St. Sophia, that is now closed up, and that, 
according to tradition, has been closed up ever since the con- 
quest. Here, report says, the arms and many other things be- 
longing to the Greek Emperors are still preserved ; and here, if any 
where, I should hope to find the remains of their library. However, 
my Lord, I trust the question will soon be at issue, and we shall know 

Y 



162 



LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR CARLYLE 



both where the library is and what hopes we are to entertain of being 
permitted to investigate its treasures. 

I hope your Lordship received the letter I wrote to you from Jaffa. 
It contained an account of my tour, as far as that place, with a few 
observations I ventured to insert, relative to my friends in Egypt. I 
was fortunate in arriving at Jaffa just before the Holy Week, by which 
means I was enabled to proceed to Jerusalem without much danger, 
in company with a caravan of Armenian pilgrims. I spent ten (I 
need not say to your Lordship most interesting) days in the city and 
neighbourhood of Jerusalem. I shall not attempt to describe scenes 
that have been described so often, but I cannot help saying that the 
city of Jerusalem is utterly unlike any other place I have ever seen. 
Its situation upon an immense rock, surrounded with valleys that 
seem cut out by the chisel ; the contrast exhibited between the 
extremest degree of barrenness, and the extremest degree of fertility, 
which border upon each other here almost every yard, without one 
shade of mitigated character on either side ; the structure of the 
walls, many of the stones in which are 15 or 16 feet long, by four 
high and four deep ; the very size mentioned, by the way, of 
the hewn stones of Solomon * (1 Kings, vii. 10.) ; the houses 
where almost every one is a fortress ; and the streets, where almost 
every one is a covered way ; all together formed an appearance 
totally dissimilar from that of any other town I have met with either 
in Europe or Asia. One of my excursions from Jerusalem was to the 
monastery of St. Saba, in order to examine the library of MSS. there. 
It had been often mentioned to me, and I was resolved if possible to 
investigate it; I believe I did run a little more hazard than was perfectly 
prudent, as the whole country at present swarms with banditti ; however 
by means of a guard consisting of those very persons that I dreaded I 
arrived in safety, and had the pleasure to make a complete examination. 
Except, however, twenty-nine copies of the Gospels, and one of the 



* " The city was intersected," says Townson, " as well as encompassed with walls of 
great strength, whose bases would still remain alter the demolition of the city." 



TO THE BISHOP OF LINCOLN. 



163 



Epistles, this celebrated library does not contain any thing valuable ; 
the rest of it to the number of 300 consists of Fathers, Homilies, 
Legends, and Rituals. I was permitted by the Superior to bring 
along with me six of what I judged the oldest MSS., viz. two copies 
of the Gospels, one of the Epistles, two books of Homilies and 
apostolical letters, which I took for the sake of the quotations, and 
a copy of the Sophist Libanius, the only work like a classic author 
that I met with. I hope the Patriarch will allow me to convey 
them to England. I was fortunate enough to attain most of the 
objects I hinted to your Lordship, as having in view in my visit to 
Palestine. I saw sufficient of the country, &c, to clear up many 
difficulties in the Oriental writers of history which had puzzled me 
not a little ; and above all, I obtained a dictionary of the vernacular 
language of the country, and established a train of enquiry, by which 
I shall be able in future to procure any farther intelligence I may 
wish for on that subject. I conceive, my Lord, this to be the only 
rational source of information by which we may hope to explain 
many of those passages in SS., which, depending upon local habits 
or vernacular dialect, are in vain to be elucidated by means of books 
alone. Yet this source, as far as I am acquainted, (except in 
Michaelis's questions to Niebuhr and his companions,) has been less 
resorted to than almost any other. From Jaffa I proceeded to 
Rhodes, where I spent near a fortnight. From thence, I sailed by 
Cos, Samos, Chios, to Smyrna, occasionally visiting the Continent 
where there was any thing worthy inspection. From Smyrna I took 
a Greek vessel to the Dardanelles, and from thence was conveyed in 
a Turkish row-boat to Constantinople. 

I. D. Carlyle. 



Y 2 



164 



LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR CARLYLE 



LETTER IV. 

My Lord, Bovukdere, Oct. 9. 1800. 

As I did not wish to teaze Your Lordship with an account of the 
various delays and disappointments I have experienced in attempting 
to gain admission to the library of the Seraglio, I put off writing till 
I could say something specific upon the subject. I have been this 
morning informed by the Dragoman, who has managed the affair, 
that he has at length obtained leave for me to inspect the private 
library of the Sultan, and that at his audience, which is to be on 
Saturday, a time will be appointed for that purpose. The person with 
whom the Dragoman negotiated the business was Youssouf Aga, who 
(as perhaps Your Lordship knows), though without any ostensible 
title or official situation, in fact at present governs the empire ; he is 
steward and favorite of the Valida, i. e. mother of the Sultan, and he 
possesses as complete an ascendancy over the mind of his mistress as 
she does over that of her son. Youssouf, from the moment of his 
being first applied to, seemed favorable to the request, saying that it 
was not only proper to be granted on account of the friendship subsist- 
ing between the two powers, but also (which I own I scarce expected) 
on account of the general use it might be of to literature ; and lie im- 
mediately promised to set on foot an enquiry respecting the existence 
of any collection of Greek or Latin MSS. In a subsequent convers- 
ation he assured the Dragoman " that he had made every investigation 
in his power, and that he found that no collection whatever of Greek 
MSS. remained at present in any part of the Seraglio." I then had 
a request conveyed to him to be permitted to examine the reposito- 
ries of Oriental books that were in the palace, having previously 
ascertained the fact that such did exist. To this he has at length an- 
swered, " that he understands that there are two of these, one in the 
Treasury, the other in what is properly called the Library ; that the 



TO THE BISHOP OF LINCOLN. 



165 



former contains only copies of the Koran ; different commentaries 
upon it, and treatises peculiar to the Mahomedan laws and religion, and 
as such, could not be subjected to my inspection, but that the library 
should be open to me, and on Saturday he would fix a day for my ad- 
mission." This, my Lord, is the present state of the business. I 
dare not be too sanguine in my expectations that I shall be able 
to make any material discoveries, as I have received intelligence 
so very opposite. Toderini, in his Leteratura Turchesa, not only 
assures us that this library contains valuable Greek MSS. but gives 
us a catalogue of them, which, he says, lie procured from a slave 
belonging to the palace. This account is in some degree con- 
firmed by the relation of a Mr. Humphries, now dead, who 
declared that he, in company with a Frenchman, at present in the 
Castle of the Seven Towers (from whom I hope to procure farther in- 
formation on the subject) had actually seen in the Library several 
Greek and Latin books : on the other hand an intelligent Italian 
surgeon (who has likewise had access to this repository) as well as all 
the Turks whom I have had any opportunity of consulting, affirm that 
it consists solely of a collection of Oriental authors. I trust, my Lord, 
I shall be able in a few days, to ascertain something decisive upon the 
question, at least with respect to this Library. With regard to the 
books preserved in the Treasury, perhaps when Youssouf Aga sees 
that no bad consequences result from an examination of the others, 
he may permit them too to be investigated ; or perhaps it may be 
brought about by the Capudan Pasha's influence (if he return in the 
winter) as he has always shown the most marked attention to Lord 

Elgin, and is connected in the strongest manner with Youssouf. I 

© 7 © 

should have been extremely happy if the time of my admission into 
the librarv could have been settled a few weeks ago, as I might 
then have had an opportunity of putting in execution a scheme, 
which I flatter myself Your Lordship would not consider as unin- 
teresting — I meant to have coasted along the southern shores of the 
© © 

Black Sea, as far as Trebisond, occasionally stopping at the different 
places which appeared best to deserve being examined. From Tre- 



166 



LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR CARLYLE 



bisond I intended going over land to Erzeroum ; from whence I should 
have returned to Constantinople, by the route of Tocat and Angora. 
The whole journey would not have taken up more than a couple of 
months (which I fear will not here have been spent very profitably) ; 
and I conceive there is no other tour of the same extent that could 
furnish an equal number of objects so well worthy of investigation. 
I need not say to Your Lordship, that I should nearly have followed 
the mysterious track of the Argonauts, and passed over the places 
where the most celebrated scenes in the retreat of the ten thousand* 
were transacted. Heraclea and Amastris, I understand, contain more 
interesting remains, and a greater quantity of inscriptions, than are 
to be found in any city in Asia. Sinope, the Gibraltar of the Euxine, 
possesses, I am assured, some valuable MSS. in one of its convents. 
Trebisond most likely does the same, and at any rate is curious as 
being the capital of an empire, which, though considerable in many 
respects, and existing for two centuries and an half, is scarce known 
to us but in romance. Had I gotten to Erzeroum, I should have 
obtained a glimpse of Armenian manners, and perhaps of their lite- 
rature, an object with which I have lately been endeavouring in some 
degree to become acquainted. I do not know that the country be- 
tween Erzeroum and Constantinople would present any thing very 
remarkable, except the famous Ancyran* inscription, containing the 
life of Augustus (which I believe has never been very correctly taken) 
and the general information that must always result to a mind at all 
conversant in classical ideas, upon travelling through such countries 
as Galatia, Bithynia, and Pontus. The track I had projected inves- 
tigating has never yet been examined by any Englishman. Tourne- 
fort visited it a century ago, and has given the only description of it 
that I have seen ; he stopped at a few of the towns upon the coast, 
and his inquiries were principally directed to researches of a bo- 



* The first copy of the Ancyran inscription was taken by Busbequius. Rostan, a 
Frenchman, is the last person who appears to have examined it : a more accurate account 
is still wanting. Acad, des In. 47. p. 89. 



TO THE BISHOP OF LINCOLN. 



167 



tanical nature. Peysonnell has merely given an account of the Black 
Sea in a commercial point of view ; and Beauchamp, who is the 
latest traveller that has visited its shores (whose Memoir upon the 
Euxine was published in the Egyptian Decades of last year, and pro- 
cured for me at Alexandria by Tallien), has chiefly considered them 
in a geographical one. Beauchamp is now confined in a castle at the 
mouth of the Bosphorus. I have not seen him myself, but have 
received several accounts of his descriptions of the voyage (indet 
pendent of his Memoir) ; and he declares it to be by far the most 
interesting one he ever performed. Your Lordship will probably 
have seen one of Beauchamp's essays (viz. that upon the site of Ba- 
bylon) detailed in Major Rennell's Geography of Herodotus. 

Thus, my Lord, I conceived these countries to be in many respects 
almost unexplored, and 1 thought a journey thither would not only 
be curious, but might also prove useful in more essential concerns. It 
is now fifty years since Peysonnell's materials were collected ; his book 
is the only document that can be procured respecting the trade of the 
Black Sea ; for, strange to tell, though we have had a commercial 
company established here for so long a time, and though the Black 
Sea is now open to English ships, yet there is not an Englishman, 
nor I believe any Frank to be found in Constantinople, who possesses 
any accurate information with regard to the geography, inhabitants or 
products of the regions adjoining to this sea. 

But, alas, my Lord, all my fine schemes have been entirely blasted 
by Turkish procrastination. It is now too late for such an expedition, 
and no vessel will engage to navigate the Black Sea so far till spring, 
as there are at present only twenty-five days of fine weather to be ex- 
pected before winter commences ; and what is still worse, (for perhaps 
the former difficulty might have been gotten over,) I understand the 
plague has certainly spread its ravages to Angora and Tocat, and that 
it is suspected to have shown itself even at Sinope and Trebisond. I 
confess I have witnessed too much of this horrid distemper, not to feel 
the utmost apprehensions from it. I think I did mention to Your 
Lordship that I had been obliged to run considerable hazard of infec- 



168 



LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR CARLYLE 



tion in different places, but I believe I did not acquaint you with the 
circumstance, which above all others, though perhaps without reason, 
tended to rivet my horrors. Upon quitting Cyprus, where the plague 
raged violently, the Greek captain of our little vessel was seized, as 
all on board believed, with the disorder ; for two days in which we 
were shut up with him in the skiff, we expected his death every mo- 
ment; he however recovered, and providentially no one else caught the 
contagion. I confess, my Lord, I have been much disappointed in 
being thus obliged to give up a favorite scheme, from which I had 
expected considerable instruction, and for which I had taken some 
pains to prepare myself. Since the time I wrote last to Your Lord- 
ship, we have been almost constantly at Boyukdere, a beautiful village 
on the banks of the Bosphorus ; the room I inhabit literally overhangs 
the water, and I have a view from it only to be exceeded by the lake 
of Keswick. 

My amusement when the heat of the weather would permit any ex- 
ertion, (for we have had the thermometer in the shade as high as 97°, 
with a sirocco besides, at which time we could only sit and try to 
breathe,) has principally consisted in examining the shores of the 
Bosphorus, the scenes of so much history and so much fable ; and my 
employment, if I may confess it, has chiefly been reading Arabian ro- 
mances. I trust, however, that this employment appears more trifling 
in the relation than it is in reality, as I conceive it affords me the most 
accurate notions of Oriental manners, and certainly gives me the best 
examples of familiar language. 

I have the honor to be, &c. 

I. D. Carlyle. 



TO THE BISHOP OF LINCOLN. 



169 



LETTER V. 

My Lord, Constantinople, Nov. 20. 1800. 

I have the satisfaction of acquainting Your Lordship, that at length 
I have been permitted to examine the library of the Seraglio, and 
completely to ascertain its contents. This permission was not 
granted me till some time after the period fixed upon for my ad- 
mission, when I had last the honor of writing to Your Lordship, 
and I began to be apprehensive that these repeated delays would 
only end in disappointment, when Lord Elgin was informed by a 
message from Youssouf Aga, that if I called at his house the next 
morning, he would send an officer along with me to introduce me into 
the library- I fear I shall be thought tedious if I detail the minutiae 
of our proceedings, but as by this means I may be able to convey 
to Your Lordship some ideas respecting that habitation, alta caligine 
mersam, which I visited, I shall venture to make the attempt. 

The house of Youssouf Aga, like all the country houses belonging 
to the great men in this country, is built upon the very edge of the 
Bosphorus, nearly half-way between the Seraglio point and " the 
towers of Oblivion.'" The Dragoman who attended me and mvself 
arrived there about eight o'clock. Youssouf was gone out to wait 
upon the Sultan, who then resided at a palace adjoining, and we 
found his Kiaia (steward) ready to receive us ; we were ushered into 
a room where that gentleman lodged, who with five others of the 
principal officers or attendants belonging to the Aga were still at 
dinner. We sat down upon a sofa beside them, and as soon as their 
repast was over and they had finished their ablutions, the Kiaia gave 
us a letter to the Bostangee Bashi, (chief of the guard, and in fact 
superintendant of the Seraglio,) which he considered as a more 
ready mode of procuring admission, than any person he could send 
to accompany us. Furnished with his passport, we rowed to the 

z 



170 



LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR CARLYLE 



Kiosk or Pavilion, where the Bostangee Bashi usually passes the 
day. He was engaged at the Porte, and we were shewn into a small 
guard-chamber in order to wait his return ; a messenger however 
soon arrived to conduct us to him. Thus escorted, we were 
suffered to pass the guard and to enter the court, or rather garden of 
the Seraglio. This spot presented an appearance altogether new to 
me; the trees are neither planted in avenues nor scattered with the 
careless simplicity of nature, nor put in with the laboured irregularity 
of modern improvers; it is neither a kitchen-garden nor a flower- 
garden, nor an orchard, nor a court, but something composed of all 
these together ; it seems as if it had been formed out of a large 
wood, principally consisting of cypresses, by scooping them into 
walks, sometimes straight and sometimes bending, which cross each 
other at different angles, and run off at different directions ; the 
trees only that border these walks having been left and all the others 
cut away. A very thick paling gaudily painted, stretches itself 
from one tree to another ; the ground between the walks is variously 
cultivated, some of it being appropriated to shrubs, some to fruit 
trees, some to flowers, and no small part laid out as a mere kitchen- 
garden. The lodges for the guards are placed without order at the 
bottom of some of the largest trees, the under boughs of which 
serve for the roofs of the buildings; we crossed this large space 
diagonally, and entered a smaller one surrounded with the habitations 
of the officers of the guard, into one of which we were introduced. 
It is inconceivable how mean these buildings appear ; but indeed this 
is the case with most of the structures in Turkey after they have 
stood any time. The characteristics of Turkish architecture, (for I 
assure Your Lordship there exists an architecture in this country as 
completely mi generis, and as strictly confined to its own rules and 
proportion as the Gothic or the Grecian,) are airiness and splendor, 
and I think a person must be very fastidious indeed who is not 
struck with the light and brilliant appearance exhibited by many of 
the Turkish edifices, while they continue in a state of perfection; 
but unfortunately the frail materials of which they are composed, 



TO THE BISHOP OF LINCOLN. 



171 



viz., wood painted over, render this appearance extremely transient, 
and the remains of magnificence thus every where blended with 
decay, give an idea of squalidness which the ruins of a simpler 
fabric can never communicate. After waiting some time for 
intelligence respecting the Bostangee Bashi, his deputy arrived, 
read the letters we had brought, and as his principal was engaged in 
the Seraglio, took upon himself to send for the keeper of the library, 
and direct him to conduct us thither ; we accordingly accompanied 
him and three other Moulahs to a mosque at a little distance, through 
which the entrance to the library lies. This mosque is neither large 
nor elegant ; but from its structure and situation is placed in the 
bosom of the Seraglio, surrounded with immense cypresses, and 
illuminated only by a few dull double windows towards the top, 
causing that " dim religious light" which is always aimed at in 
places of worship throughout the east ; it possesses a silence and 
solemnity more imposing than I think I ever witnessed in any other 
building ; we passed through the mosque as we were directed, 
without speaking, and upon tiptoe; and at length on the other 
side of it, arrived at the outward door of the library, which was 
locked, and a seal fixed upon the lock ; above it is a short Arabic 
inscription, containing the name and titles of Sultan Mustapha, the 
present Emperor's father, who founded both the mosque and the 
library in the year 1767. The library is built in the 
form of a Greek cross, as in the margin ; one of the arms 
of the cross serves as an anti-room, and the remaining 
three arms, together with the centre, constitute the library 
itself. You proceed through the anti-room by a door, 
over which is written in large Arabic characters, " enter in 
peace." The library is much smaller than Your Lordship could have 
any conception of ; for, from the extremity of one of the arms to the 
extremity of the opposite one it does not measure twelve yards. 
Its appearance however is elegant and cheerful. The central part of 
the cross is covered with a dome, which is supported by four 
handsome marble pillars; the three arms or recesses that branch off 

z 2 




172 



LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR CARLYLE 



from this, have each of them six windows, three above and as many 
below. So small an apartment cannot but be rendered extremely 
light by this great number of windows, and perhaps this effect is not 
a little increased by the gloom of the mosque, and the darkness of 
the anti-room which leads to it. The book cases, four of which 
stand in each of the three recesses are plain but neat. They are 
furnished with folding wire-work doors, secured with a padlock and 
the seal of the librarian. The books are laid upon their sides one 
above another, with their ends outwards, and having their letters 
written upon the edges of the leaves. Your Lordship may imagine 
I lost no time in examining the treasures inclosed in this celebrated 
repository, and the disposition of the books greatly facilitated my 
inquiries. I am very certain that there was not one volume which I 
did not separately examine ; but I was prevented by the jealousy of 
the Moulahs who accompanied me from making out a detailed 
catalogue of the whole. I continued however to take an account of 
all the writers on history and general literature, and I hope by means 
of a present to procure an accurate list of the remainder. The 
whole number of MSS. in the library amounts to 1294, much the 
greatest part of which are Arabic, these are however most of the 
best Persian and Turkish writers, but alas, not one volume in Greek, 
Hebrew, or Latin ! The following is a short summary of my inves- 
tigation, and contains a general statement of the number of books 
in the library, classed according to their different subjects, viz. 



Copies of the Koran - • - 17 

Commentaries on ditto - - - 143 

Collections of Tradition relative to Mahomet - 182 

Treatises on Mahomedan Jurisprudence - 324 

On Logic - - - - 95 

On Mystical Subjects - - - 47 

On Philosophy - - - 86 

On Physic - - - - 31 

On Grammar - - - - 192 



TO THE BISHOP OF LINCOLN. 



173 



Poets, and writers on Polite Literature - 79 
Historians - - - - 42 

Dictionaries and Vocabularies - - 56 

Such, my Lord, is the famous Library of the Seraglio ! respecting 
which so many falsehoods have been advanced ; but which I am now 
very clear, both from the manner in which it is secured, the decla- 
rations of the Turks, and the contradictory accounts of the Franks, 
was never before subjected to the examination of a Christian. After 
we had remained in the library as long as decency permitted, we took 
our leave of the Librarian and quitted the Seraglio. As Youssouf 
Aga's Kiaia had hinted that his master would wish to see me after I 
had finished my investigation, I waited upon him on my return. He 
received me with the greatest attention, and desired to know the 
success of my researches ; but at the same time expressed his fears, 
that the neglect in which literature had been held by their ancestors 
would render every enquiry, at present, after ancient MSS. en- 
tirely fruitless. I thanked him, in the name of the ambassador, for 
having been permitted to enter the library at all ; and assured him, 
that though I had not met with in it those books which were reported 
to have been deposited there, yet I considered it as no small satis- 
faction to have ascertained the negative of the question. I observed, 
that different nations possessed different customs ; that my discovery 
of one of these ancient authors would be looked upon in England 
as very important ; and I took the liberty of adding, that no person 
felt more interested in subjects of this kind than Mr. Pitt. Youssouf 
Aga replied, that nothing could give them greater pleasure than to 
gratify the British nation, and particularly Mr. Pitt ; and that if they 
could give any intelligence where such books were deposited, I should 
not only have the liberty of inspecting them, but of carrying them 
along with me to England. This assurance gave me an opportunity 
of hinting at the other repository of books in the Seraglio, and of 
expressing my wish, if it were not improper, to be allowed to exa- 
mine it likewise. The Aga answered in such a manner as gave 



174 



LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR CARLYLE 



Mr. Chaubert, the dragoman who accompanied me, every reason to 
conclude that my request would not finally be denied. Mr. C. 
possesses a very considerable personal influence with Youssouf Aga ; 
and in fact obtained leave for my admission into the library, after 
both Lord Elgin's presents and the request he had transmitted by 
others had been found ineffectual to procure that permission. I 
own, my Lord, I shall feel not a little hurt, if I be thus hindered from 
completing my enquiries ; but I trust matters will be so arranged, 
by some means or other, as to prevent my experiencing such a dis- 
appointment. 

I have the honor to be, &c. &c. 

I. D. Carlyle. 



LETTER VI. 

My Lord British Palace, Pera, Feb. 29. 1801. 

I have this moment received Your Lordship's letter, when I am upon 
the wing for setting out for Greece. I lament that I must be obliged 
to give up the favorite plan I had formed of a journey to the Black 
Sea, and especially as the idea has met with Your Lordship's appro- 
bation. I shall ever regret that the delays of the Turkish govern- 
ment, in giving an answer respecting my admission into the libraries, 
prevented me from undertaking my projected expedition in the au- 
tumn of last year, especially as I have not been permitted to examine 
the repository of books in the Khasne. It was only yesterday, my 
Lord, that that business was finally determined. I had been buoyed 
up with hopes of entering the library, by repeated promises of 
Youssouf Aga, and had in consequence waited with no little impa- 
tience for the termination of the Ramadan and the Bairam (during 
which periods the Sultan will do no business) ; but the message which 



TO THE BISHOP OF LINCOLN. 



175 



was received yesterday has completely put an end to every expect- 
ation. The message was from Youssouf Aga, and stated that he had 
been informed by the Selictar Aga, that " the Sultan could not think 
of acceding to our request, as it might subject him to similar ones 
from other persons." — I feel some disappointment, my Lord, in not 
having been permitted completely to ascertain the object of my 
mission, after making so long a stay in the country ; but I confess I 
have not the smallest idea that any Greek MSS. can exist in any part 
of the Seraglio : there certainly were none in the principal library, 
and from every enquiry I can make there does not appear the smallest 
probability that such MSS. exist any where else. The Capudan 
Pasha, (to whom I was introduced by Lord Elgin's kindness, pur- 
posely to make the inquiry,) assured me that he himself had been 
brought up in the Seraglio, and had passed near thirty years in it ; 
that he was attached to that particular department in it called the 
Khasne (Treasury) ; for the officers in the interior of the Seraglio are 
divided into four classes, viz. (to speak in our language) those be- 
longing to the Guards, to the Kitchen, to the Bed-chamber, and to the 
Treasury. The Capudan Pasha declared that he had been in every 
part of the Khasne ; that he had never seen, or even heard of any 
MSS. being deposited in it ; that if any such did exist, they could 
not but be known, as it is an invariable rule, upon the appointment 
of every new Treasurer, that an inventory of the contents of the 
Khasne should be made out ; this inventory, his Highness informed 
me, is minutely accurate, and not the smallest article which the 
Khasne contains can be omitted in it. If, therefore, any manuscripts 
had ever been preserved there, they must have been inserted in these 
inventories, which he was certain they were not. This account of 
the Capudan Pasha is entirely comformable to the information I 
received upon the same subject from the venerable and excellent 
Patriarch of Jerusalem ; he assured me that he had not the smallest 
idea that any Greek MSS. existed in the Seraglio, or in any other 
repository belonging to the Sultan ; — that if any had existed (such 
is the veneration of the modern Greeks for what belonged to their 



176 



LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR CARLYLE 



ancestors, and such their influence with the Ministers of the Porte)) 
that they must have been brought to light. From these authorities, 
my Lord, I did not imagine that I should be able to find any thing 
valuable in the Khasne, but still I feel a great mortification in being 
debarred examining it, as, after all, I cannot but be conscious that the 
re infeda rediit must be attached to my mission. I have, however, 
my Lord, been more successful in my literary inquiries in other quar- 
ters. I have examined and taken a catalogue of the MSS. in the 
library belonging to the Patriarch of Jerusalem, the largest I believe 
in the empire, and have even obtained permission to carry a few of 
those which I judged most valuable to England. The rest consisting 
of 130, are made up chiefly of homilies, books of offices, and contro- 
versial writings against the Roman church. I have likewise examined 
the libraries (if such they may be called) contained in the convents 
of the Prince's Islands, as well as those in Constantinople, and have 
been able (and I assure Your Lordship, I have not stolen even one) to 
obtain twenty-nine Greek MSS. containing the Gospels or Epistles. 
We have only gotten three MSS. on profane literature, viz. a Liba- 
nius, an Eutropius (with a continuation), and a history of the siege 
of Thessalonica by the Latins, in the time of Count Baldwin. Most 
of the MSS. are upon vellum, and some undoubtedly very ancient. 
Nor have I, my Lord, been less fortunate in my Arabic acquisitions, 
having ransacked the Bazars at Constantinople so frequently, that I 
think I have obtained all the valuable books in this language that the 
shops contained; at least, all those whose price was not too great 
for me to attempt the purchase. My Arabian MSS. amount to nearly 
100, picked out of at least forty times that number *, and consisting 
(as far as my knowledge enabled me to form a judgment) of some 
of the best Historians, Biographers, Natural Historians, Geographers, 
and Poets, in the language. So that, upon the whole, my Lord, I 



* " An European, who wishes to buy Arabic, Turkish, and Persian MSS.," says 
Niebuhr, " 6nds no where such good opportunities as at Constantinople," 



TO THE BISHOP OF LINCOLN. 177 

cannot but flatter myself that the collection of MSS. which I have 
formed is one of the most valuable ever sent at one time to England. 
As Your Lordship will conceive I am somewhat anxious for its safe 
arrival, I believe I shall transmit the box to Lord Keith, to whom 
Lord Elgin will write, with a request to have it sent forward to 
\ England. With respect to myself, my Lord, I wished to set off im- 
mediately (in company with Mr. Hunt, who has been a zealous 
assistant in my researches) for Mount Athos, in order to examine 
the libraries in the different Greek convents there ; and as we go with 
every recommendation that we could wish, perhaps we may not be 
less successful in the acquirement of MSS. at the holy mountain than 
in other places of the same description. From Athos, we mean to go 
to Salonica ; and from thence, if possible, to the monasteries on the 
Peneus. We shall then proceed, by the most celebrated spots ot 
Thessaly, Doris, Phocis, and Boeotia, to Attica and Athens : from 
thence I shall cross the Isthmus to Patras ; and so get home, either 
by Malta or Trieste, by sea or by land, as circumstances may admit. 
I confess, my Lord, I cannot write that word home without feeling a 
sensation which all the classic grounds I have just mentioned (though 
I believe I shall visit them with as much enthusiasm as most persons) 
can never convey : with what delight shall I return to it, convinced 
as I always was from reasoning, and now am from experience, that 
it is the only country where religion, liberty, or happiness can be 
found ! 

I have the honor to be, &c. &c. 

I. D. Carlyle. 



A A 



( 1*78 ) 



LETTERS 

FROM 

THE LATE PROFESSOR CARLYLE 

TO 

THE LORD BISHOP OF DURHAM. 



LETTER I. 

My LORD, Constantinople, Jan. 11. 1800. 

As Your Lordship expressed a wish that I should endeavour to see 
some of the Greek Patriarchs, in order to learn the fate of the Arabic 
copies of the New Testament, which were sent some time ago, by 
the Society, to Alexandria, I took an opportunity last week of wait- 
ing upon the Patriarch of Constantinople. I was received by him 
with much politeness, and he seemed disposed to give me every in- 
formation in his power. He assured me, however, that he had never 
heard of any books having been transmitted into these countries from 
England, and was very certain that none had ever been distributed. 
But as he did not understand the Arabic language himself, and as he 
had no personal knowledge of the East, he requested me to make a 
visit to the Patriarch of Jerusalem, to whom he dispatched a messen- 
ger to introduce me. I went accordingly and was immediately 
admitted. The Patriarch was sitting upon his sofa, and expressed 
great pleasure at seeing us. He is fourscore years of age, has a very 
pleasing countenance, and a most interesting appearance, and pos- 
sesses all his faculties in their full vigor. Arabic is his native tongue, 
so that I was enabled to converse with him without an interpreter. 
Like the Patriarch of Constantinople he was entirely unacquainted 



LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR CARLYLE. 



179 



that any books had ever been sent into the East, and could not con- 
ceive that they had ever arrived at Alexandria ; he was very sure 
however, that they had never been dispersed. He was perfectly well 
informed with respect to the version made use of by the Society (which 
Your Lordship knows is the same as the Ptoman one, and I fear a 
little warped in some places in order to favor the peculiar tenets of 
the Roman catholic church), and he was pretty strong in his animad- 
versions upon it. This gave me an opportunity of mentioning the 
new edition, which I was encouraged by Your Lordship to undertake. 
He immediately poured out a most pathetic benediction upon Your 
Lordship's head, expressing the good effects that he trusted might 
result from such a design, and his joy that Your Lordship was tread- 
ing in the steps of those (meaning the Apostles) whose office you 
filled. He declared that nothing could afford him so much pleasure 
as to co-operate in such a work, and assured me that if it was thought 
fit to transmit some of the copies into those parts of the East, where 
he or his brethren had any influence, we might rely upon their mak- 
ing every effort to distribute them in the way they should judge most 
likely to promote the interests of religion. After being with him for 
an hour, I took my leave ; I confess highly gratified with my visit, 
which he made me promise to repeat. 

Both the Patriarchs are men of most respectable characters, and 
universally esteemed not only by the Greeks and Turks, but by Ar- 
menians and Franks. Your Lordship will perhaps wonder at this 
seeming anticlimax ; but such is the unhappy state of things in this 
country, that the different sects of Christians hate each other much 
more than they do the Turks. The venerable Patriarch of Jerusalem 
has filled the chair upwards of ten years without ever being displaced. 
The Patriarch of Constantinople has twice been driven into exile by 
the intrigues of a party, and a rival placed in his cathedral, but he is 
thought to be now very firmly established. Both these Prelates seem 
to live in considerable splendor. Their mode of living is, however, 
entirely Turkish. The palace of the Patriarch of Constantinople is 
verymuch like what Your Lordship may perhaps remember to have read 

a a 2 



180 



LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR CARLYLE 



descriptions of in the Arabian Nights. One enters a large court, which 
is surrounded with high walls ; in the centre of this court is a terrace 
formed into a kind of garden, with an alcove in the middle. The 
walks are composed of gravel of different colours. When every thing 
is in bloom, the effect, I dare say, will not be displeasing. These 
kind of raised gardens are quite the fashion here. I saw one of the 
Reis Effendi's, still larger and higher than that of the Patriarch's. 
One cannot easily conceive why they should thus wish to elevate their 
gardens into the air ; but I own I had great pleasure in seeing them, as 
they so well explained what is meant by the hanging-gardens of Baby- 
lon. The interior of the palace I found constructed in the same 
manner as almost all the houses here. At the bottom is a large room, 
betwixt a stable and a hall, as it is occasionally inhabited either by 
men or horses. From this a staircase rises, which leads into a saloon, 
opening into the different apartments upon the floor. The rooms of 
state are exactly alike in every house ; they are nearly square, and a 
row of windows goes round the top on three sides. Their sole furni- 
ture consists of a sofa, of about eight inches in height (which likewise 
fills three of the sides), and a carpet. The fourth side is left for the 
door and a kind of recess, where, if they can procure one, they place 
an English clock. This is the general mode of building, from the 
Divan of the Capudan Pasha to the sitting-room, of the common 
tradesman. 

We have been very much disappointed in the climate here ; we 
find it quite as severe, and much more changeable than what it gene- 
rally is in England. Upon the morning of the first of this month, 
the thermometer (by Fahrenheit's scale) was at 15°, and eight and 
forty hours after it had risen to near 50°. I think Your Lordship will 
scarcely recollect any variation equal to this in the same time. The 
consequences of these sudden changes have been very uncomfortable 
to all of us, and particularly to myself, as I have experienced more ill- 
health since my arrival here than in all my former life put together. 
But we trust that this will only prove what the inhabitants call a 
seasoning. 



TO THE BISHOP OF DURHAM. 



181 



As Lord Elgin has not found an opportunity of inquiring whether 
the libraries of the Seraglio may be opened to us, I have entirely 
occupied myself in my Oriental studies; and I trust the advantages I 
possess here will not be thrown away. I have not only the oppor- 
tunities of consulting various books, but of writing and conversing in 
the Arabic language: and I can now do this with tolerable facility. 
The stores of Arabic literature in the several public libraries in Con- 
stantinople are prodigious. The histories relating to the most flourish- 
ing periods of the Khaliphat are almost innumerable ; nor are the 
other parts of their history deficient in writers who elucidate them. 
I believe I mentioned to Your Lordship the idea I had formed of 
collecting materials for an account of that Crusade in which Saladin 
and our Richard the First were engaged. I trust I shall not be dis- 
appointed in meeting with a great deal of very curious information 
relative both to the history of that epoch, and also what will throw a 
considerable light upon the general state of manners in Europe during 
the middle ages, particularly with regard to chivalry and the feudal 
system, both of which I have no doubt originated in these countries. 

The Turkish literature is at a very low ebb ; were I to send Your 
Lordship a specimen of it you would only be too much disgusted by 
it. It is possible, however, I may be able to pick up something better 
than what I have yet seen, before my return ; but I own I have little 
hopes upon the subject. 

I fear I have tired Your Lordship with this farrago ; but I trust 
your goodness will excuse it. 

I have the honor to be, &c. 

I. D. Carlyle. 



182 



LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR CARLYLE 



LETTER II. 

My Lord, Buyukdere, near Constantinople, July 23. 1800. 

From the kindness I have experienced from Your Lordship, I have 
the vanity to think that you will not be wholly uninterested in hear- 
ing that I am once more arrived at Lord Elgin's, in health and safety, 
after an expedition of considerable difficulty. 

The breaking out of the plague in Constantinople, at the beginning 
of the year, totally precluded my making any investigations in that 
city for some months. I was determined therefore (as I would not 
willingly waste any part of the time I have to spend in the East) to 
embrace the opportunity of General Koeler's going to join the Grand 
Vizier's army, to accompany him in his journey through Asia Minor. 
We had a most interesting ride through the whole of the peninsula; 
the latter part, from Caraman to the sea, over the ancient Lycaonia, 
Cilicia, and Isauria, I considered particularly curious, as I believe we 
were the first Europeans that had passed over it since the Turkish 
conquest. The whole of the country presents a melancholy picture 
of former magnificence, and present desolation. The desert plains 
we trod seemed ready to start into fertility with a touch, but that touch 
unhappily is wanting. At Cyprus I joined Sir Sidney Smith, and 
accompanied him first to Crete and afterwards to Alexandria, where, 
under the sanction of a flag of truce, I landed and passed a few very 
agreeable days with some of the French at that place. It is only 
justice to say that they treated me with every politeness ; the Scavans 
informing me of any thing I wished to inquire about, without the 
smallest reserve, and the military offering me every accommodation 
in their power to penetrate farther into the interior ; but these offers 
I was obliged to decline on account of the situation of the country 
which rendered all examination of matters of curiosity totally imprac- 
ticable. r he moment I was there happened to be just after the battle 



TO THE BISHOP OF DURHAM. 



183 



between the Turks and French ; the former kept possession of the 
town of Cairo, the latter of the castle, and perpetual skirmishes were 
taking place betwixt them. The Mamelukes, enemies to both, were 
masters of Upper Egypt. The Bedouin Arabs, unopposed by any, 
and adversaries to all, ravaged the banks of the Nile, and the plague 
raged throughout the whole country. Thus circumstanced, I was obliged 
to relinquish all idea of reaching Cairo, and content myself with what 
I was able to observe of Egyptian manners and antiquities in and 
around Alexandria. I cannot however, my Lord, regret the period at 
which I arrived there ; if it hindered me from seeing some objects of 
antiquity, it showed me the country itself, in a situation as curious 
perhaps as any one has ever been. 

From Alexandria I sailed to Jaffa, and was fortunate enough to 
arrive there just before the commencement of the Holy week, and 
thus had an opportunity of joining an Armenian caravan, and of 
proceeding to Jerusalem in safety ; a journey which, in the present 
state of Syria, I could not have ventured to have undertaken at any 
other time, on account of the number of banditti that infest the 
roads. I passed ten days at Jerusalem and in its neighbourhood, and I 
think saw most of the Videnda that were worthy of notice. Amongst 
other places, I visited the convent of St. Saba, and had an oppor- 
tunity of completely examining its famous library of MSS. ; except, 
however, 29 copies of the Gospels and one of the Epistles, there 
appeared nothing very valuable ; the rest, amounting to about 300 
volumes, consisted entirely of Fathers, Legends, Homilies, and Rituals. 
I was permitted to bring away with me to Constantinople six of what 
I judged the most curious MSS., viz. two of the oldest copies of the 
Gospels, and the only one of the Epistles and Acts j two collections 
of Apostolical letters, and a copy of Libanius. 

I confess, my Lord, I was highly gratified with my visit to Palestine. 
I not only saw what I had much wished to see, but I was enabled to 
attain most of the objects I had in view when I undertook the journey. 
I was permitted to examine many libraries ; by the survey I had of 
the country, &c. I shall be able to understand many parts in the 



184 



LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR CARLYLE 



Oriental writers that have hitherto puzzled me not a little ; and above 
all, by getting hold of a dictionary of the vernacular language of the 
country, and by putting things in such a train as to insure further 
information upon that subject, I trust I shall have it in my power to 
throw light upon many passages in the different Oriental dialects, and 
particularly in SS., that have not hitherto been explained for want of 
having recourse to such a key. I had the honor of conversing with 
Your Lordship upon this head in London, and was not a little 
gratified in finding my sentiments respecting this (I think) neglected 
mode of criticism, so congenial to Your Lordship's. 

From Syria I proceeded by the way of Rhodes, Cos, Chios, &c. 
to Smyrna, occasionally touching or staying at any place where I 
hoped to pick up information. From Smyrna I took a vessel to the 
Dardanelles, and from thence was conveyed in a Turkish row-boat to 
Constantinople. 

It will give Your Lordship pleasure to know that the idea of our 
proposed edition of the Arabic SS. was received with the most lively 
mark of gratitude and delight by every one to whom I communicated 
it. The different sects of Christians seemed to vie with each other 
in applauding the plan, and in proffers of assistance towards 
rendering it as completely effectual as possible. I have just heard 
from my friend and neighbour, Mr. Frederick North, governor 
of Cevlon, who tells me he has established in that island 150 
Protestant schools, and has had the Liturgy of the Church of 
England translated into the different Oriental tongues there in use. 
It gave me the sincerest pleasure to be able to inform him of the 
benevolent scheme promoted by Your Lordship, in which I am an 
humble instrument. I trust we shall have it in our power, before he 
quits his government, to furnish him with the essential foundations 
of religious education. In the mean time, one is happy to find that 
he has chosen such a work to pave its way as our most admirable 
Liturgy. I assure Your Lordship I feel impatient to begin the work; 
and I am gratified in finding, by accounts from London, that every 
thing will be ready for my entering upon it as soon as I return. 



TO THE BISHOP OF DURHAM. 



185 



When that may be I cannot yet precisely say. The Ottoman 
ministers have hitherto denied the existence of any library in the 
Seraglio, but as this was conveyed through the medium of the late 
Reis Effendi, a man in every respect feeble and ignorant, it is not 
greatly to he relied on. The present Reis Effendi, who was appointed 
a few days ago, is without controversy one of the most learned and 
most intelligent persons in the empire ; I trust therefore in a very 
short time the matter will be brought to issue, when I shall be able 
to form some notion respecting the period of my stay in this country. 
Believe me, my Lord, motives of mere curiosity shall not detain me, 
when those of duty prompt my return. 

I. D. Carlyle. 



LETTER III. 

My Lord, Boyukdere, Oct. 12. 1800. 

I was honoured by receiving your letter to me here about the same 
time that I apprehend my last would reach Your Lordship. I return 
Your Lordship many thanks for Mr. Hawkins's interesting paper which 
I have perused with great satisfaction. I have the pleasure of being 
well acquainted with that gentleman, and have obtained much valuable 
information from him upon the subjects treated in his little essay, 
and upon similar ones previous to my departure from England. 
I could have wished, however, my Lord, he had been somewhat 
more particular in pointing out the places of smaller note where he 
suspects MSS. are to be discovered ; as it appears to me quite as 
difficult to find out where they are as to gain possession of them 
afterwards ; some of the repositories at which he hints I have already 
examined, and have taken steps for the examination of others as 
soon as I shall have finished investigating the library of the Seraglio, 
into which I have the pleasure of acquainting Your Lordship that 
I am at length to be admitted, and a day is this evening to be fixed 
for that purpose. The convents in the Princes Islands contain no 

B B 



186 



LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR CARLYLE 



MSS. of any value or antiquity ; a modern copy of one of the edited 
plays of Sophocles was the only appearance of a classical author ; 
nor have I as yet been able to discover any thing of consequence in 
the libraries of the Greek Princes here ; but I have by no means 
finished my investigations amongst them, nor have I seen either 
of the libraries of that kind mentioned by Mr. Hawkins. I trust I 
shall be able to make a very complete survey of the Patriarchal 
libraries ; I have already secured my admission into them, but I 
have on many accounts postponed examining them till after my being 
admitted to that of the Seraglio. I confess, my Lord, I have more 
hopes of discovering MSS. of consequence, in these libraries, than in 
any others in the country, both on account of their magnitude, the 
situation of their possessors, and their having been hitherto (as far 
as I understand) so little explored. I had an intention of making an 
excursion towards Sinope and Trebizond, both which places T have 
been assured contain valuable repositories of MSS., but I have been 
detained so long in waiting for the answer of the Divan respecting 
my admission to the Seraglio, that a voyage to the Black Sea is now 
become impracticable on account of the season of the year; nor 
indeed would I venture amongst those regions at present, as the plague 
rages with great violence in all that part of Asia Minor. I shall 
endeavour, if possible, in my return, to stop a while at Mount 
Athos, but I fear those convents have been so often searched that 
there is not much hope of finding any considerable literary treasures. 
I perhaps however shall have more favourable opportunities of 
examining them than have been generally possessed. I should 
conceive the monasteries on the Peneus to be more likely to repay 
the pains of investigating them, as they certainly hitherto have been 
little explored, but I fear, my Lord, I shall scarce have it in my 
power to visit them, as I would fain get back to England and my 
duties there as soon as possible. I trust however, my Lord, that upon 
the whole I shall be able to glean some information upon these sub- 
jects that will not be uninteresting. If I do not it shall not be for 
want of any exertions of my own. 



TO THE BISHOP OF DURHAM. 



187 



Your Lordship asks me about the respective numbers of the 
different sects of Christians in the East. I cannot say that when I 
was upon the spot I was able to obtain any information on the 
subject upon which I could much rely, as each individual always 
appeared to swell the number of his own community and to diminish 
that of others, but it will not be difficult at Constantinople to ascer- 
tain the question with tolerable accuracy. In European Turkey the 
Latins and Armenians (except in the town of Constantinople alone, 
where there are undoubtedly a very large quantity of Armenians,) 
bear no proportion to the Greeks. The Latins I am informed by 
the Vicar-General here, do not amount to more than 40,000. The 
Greeks in Europe certainly out-number the Turks in a ratio of three 
or four to one. The whole number of them according to the best 
information I can procure, amounting to about three millions and an 
half. In Asia, except upon the sea coasts and the islands, the number 
of the Greeks is very considerable, but the Armenians are found in 
every town from the confines of Tartary to Egypt, and in their 
habits and modes of life approach so nearly to those of the Turks 
that they are not easily at the first view distinguished from them. 
In Syria there are few persons to be found of either the Latin or the 
Greek communions, except those who are established in the neigh- 
bourhood of some convent. The Armenians are much more widely 
dispersed, and as I was informed by the Patriarch of that nation at 
Jerusalem, (a most respectable person who died of the plague at 
Jaffa, only ten days after I left that place,) constitute in Persia a very 
large part of the inhabitants. The population of the city of 
Jerusalem I believe I obtained pretty accurately ; it consists of 
9,000 Mahomedans, 3,000 Jews, 2,000 Greeks, 600 Latins, 300 
Armenians, 100 Jacobites or Syrians, and two or three families of 
Copts and MarOnites. Your Lordship will be surprized at the 
number of the Jews, and I could not gain any satisfactory account 
how they existed in a place where they do not cultivate the ground, 
and where they cannot have much commerce, as it requires a guard 
to go in safety even half a mile from the walls of the town, and 

b b 2 



188 



LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR CARLYLE 



you cannot travel to any distance without a very considerable escort ; 
had it not been for a caravan of Armenian pilgrims, consisting of 
four or five hundred persons who were going to Jerusalem to celebrate 
Easter, whom we joined, I should not have been able to have gotten 
to that city at all. 

The whole of these sects at present seem to have an equal hatred 
to the Turks and to the French ; to the former for their constant 
oppression ; to the latter for their horrid cruelties they committed in 
their return from Acre. I myself saw under the walls of Jaffa the 
mangled and half-buried remains of 5,000 Turks, and near 500 Chris- 
tians whom Buonaparte massacred upon the shore. The putrid smell 
was scarcely dissipated after the intervention of a year. Kleber (as did 
several of the other officers) refused to have any hand in so shocking 
a transaction, but miscreants were not wanting to put in execution 
(with every aggravation of cruelty that could have been practised 
by a Nero, as I was repeatedly told by eye-witnesses,) the commands 
of the First Consul. In consequence of all this, the English are 
every where in Syria looked up to as preservers. When we returned 
to Jerusalem after a little excursion in the neighbourhood, we were 
met by a company of Christian women who sung in Arabic a kind of 
gratulatory song, the burden of which was " the English are going 
to the holy city, and they are the Christians after all." 

With regard to the opinions of the different serfs respecting the 
fulfilment of the prophecies, I had not, my Lord, any opportunity 
of learning their ideas, as, except the Superior and a few other of the 
monks in the convent of the Terra-Sancta, and the Patriarchs of 
the Armenians and Greeks, the rest of the Christians, (particularly 
of the two last-named sects,) seemed so deplorably ignorant, that it 
was hopeless to converse with any of them on such subjects. 

I need not say that I was much gratified in hearing that Your 
Lordship found my letters at all interesting ; but I must not let so 
flattering a declaration induce me to trespass too long upon your 
many other engagements. 

I. D. Carlyle. 



TO THE BISHOP OF DURHAM. 



189 



LETTER IV. 

My LORD. Constantinople, Dec. 12. 1800. 

I have the satisfaction of acquainting Your Lordship that at length I 
have been permitted to examine the library of the Seraglio. I wish 
I could add that I had been able to make any discoveries of Latin, 
Greek, or Hebrew MSS. there, but, after investigating every volume, 
I found nothing in that boasted repository except a collection of 
Arabic, Persian, and Turkish authors, principally upon Mahomedan 
Theology and Jurisprudence. I have not, however, quite given up 
my inquiries in the Seraglio ; I entertain hopes of being admitted 
into another apartment, within its precincts, which, I am informed, 
does actually contain a number of worm-eaten parchments that lie 
piled up upon the floor. But I confess, my Lord, I have been so 
often deceived in the accounts that have been given me, respecting 
subjects of this nature, that I am by no means sanguine in my ex- 
pectations of making any valuable discovery. At the same time I 
should wish to omit no opportunity of investigating every part of the 
palace where there may be the smallest chance that any ancient MSS. 
could either be left by negligence or deposited by design. 

I see by the newspapers, that Your Lordship has been employed 
with your usual activity and benevolence, in endeavouring to mitigate 
the distresses with which we are grieved to find our poorer country- 
men at present labouring, from the high price of provisions. If the 
evil be of a temporary nature, one has every reason to believe that 
such exertions, from individuals of Your Lordship's character, aided 
by the wisdom of Parliament, will lessen or subdue it ; but, my Lord, 
the whole of our agricultural economy seems to be so different from 
what it is in most of the countries where agriculture has longest and 
best flourished, that one cannot but fear there may be circumstances 
radically improper in the system itself. I pretend not, my Lord, to 
be much conversant in such subjects, but I cannot help troubling Your 



190 LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR CARLYLE 

Lordship with a few observations I made relative to matters of this 
kind in my late journey through Asia Minor, Palestine, part of the 
Delta, and the most considerable of the islands in the Archipelago. 

Through all these countries I think I may affirm that I did not see 
one field laid down for hay. A narrow fringe of natural grass skirted 
the mouths of some of the rivers, but otherwise cultivation was en- 
tirely directed to raise human food. 

After the harvest is gotten in, the straw is broken into small pieces, 
by a kind of harrow, and cleaned and laid up as provender. The 
working cattle, camels, &c. get little other food besides this. The 
beeves pick up what they can, for a while, on fallow grounds, and are 
then fattened by oil cakes. Horses, that do little, are fed with the 
same straw, but always when they are hard ridden, with barley. Their 
litter is composed entirely of their own dung, dried and sifted. The 
beef in the East is undoubtedly by no means so fine as some of the 
best that is sold in the London markets, but it is not very inferior to 
the generality of what is met with in the country towns throughout 
England ; and from its being fed and fattened in a manner that in- 
duces little expence, it is bought for a smaller proportionate price 
than almost any other article of consumable commodities. At this 
place, while wheat is at six shillings or seven shillings per bushel, and 
mutton fetches three-pence-halfpenny per pound, the best beef only 
comes to two-pence farthing. The same relative difference in the 
prices holds good in the interior parts of the country, though the 
absolute amount of each article is not more than two-thirds of what 
it reaches in Constantinople. That the mode of treatment I have 
mentioned is not prejudicial to the horses in the East is sufficiently 
clear from the character they maintain ; a character, to the justice of 
which 1 can bear ample testimony, as out of near six hundred, which 
our party used at different times in passing through Asia Minor, not 
more than six stumbled and fell, though great part of our roads were 
such as I should have imagined, if we had not travelled over them, to 
have been impassable. I need scarce add, my Lord, that in all these 
countries horses are almost solely appropriated to riding; all the 



TO THE BISHOP OF DURHAM. 



191 



cattle used for husbandry and nine-tenths of that for draught and 
carriages being oxen. Nor is it necessary to say that]I found neither 
breweries to use the barley, nor distilleries to destroy the wheat. 

One cannot help, I think, being struck with the different situation 
of Great Britain in the points I have hinted at : 

1. A very great portion (Your Lordship is a much better judge what 
that portion is than I can be) of our cultivated land consists of grass; 
and all this, I conceive, to be nearly withdrawn from the general con- 
sumption ; for it is appropriated either to the maintenance of horses, 
which are wholly useless as an article of food, or to the production of 
beef and cheese of so superior a quality, and consequently so high a price, 
as almost to preclude the common people from purchasing them. 

2. Of the land that is in tillage, that which bears oats is almost en- 
tirely destined for horses ; that which produces barley, for breimng. 

3. Whilst the greatest part of the animals used in the east take 
little from human food for their support, and contribute much to in- 
crease it when they are killed, those in England consume much of it 
while alive, and when dead contribute nothing to add to it. 

I apprehend, my Lord, that all these evils have been advancing in 
England, and of late years most rapidly. From the extremely small 
sums at which hay moduses are fixed, I believe, throughout almost 
the whole of the kingdom, we may judge that that article was not con- 
sidered as of much consequence formerly. Indeed I have myself seen 

rentals of large estates, in which (160 or 170 years ago) there is no 
mention made of any grass lands except a garth or two close to the 
mansion. In those days, as we see from various household books, the 
beeves and many of the sheep were killed at the approach of winter, 
and pickled or dried. This practice is prevalent here, and it continues 
to be followed in most of the northern parts of Great Britain yet, as 
I make no doubt but Your Lordship may have heard. The seeming 
advantages to landlords and tenants have induced a preference for 
grazing farms, and the number of common fields which have of late 
years been inclosed has enabled them to convert no small quantity of 
land that was formerly arable into pasture; while the quantity of 



192 



LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR CARLYLE 



human food, has, I fear, by this means, been gradually lessening, the 
population of the country has undoubtedly increased, till the average 
produce of the land is no longer equal to the consumption ; for though 
a number of commons and what are called waste lands have been 
divided and inclosed, the manner in which they have been allotted 
and managed has, I fear, tended to counteract much of the benefit that 
would otherwise have resulted from them. 

In the meeting in Oxfordshire, to which I before alluded, I ob- 
serve that an idea is thrown out of receiving rents ip a different 
manner from a fixed pecuniary payment. As something of this kind 
is practised throughout the whole of Asia Minor, not only in paying 
rents but wages, perhaps Your Lordship will not dislike to have a 
short account of it. 

Almost all the lands in Anatolia and Caramania are let from year 
to year ; the rent of every farm is partly fixed and partly variable. 
The fixed part (which goes to the Seigneur of the district) is paid in 
money ; the variable part (which belongs to the immediate land- 
holder) differs in different places ; sometimes it amounts only to a 
tenth of the produce, but the most general rent throughout the whole 
of Asia Minor is a quantity of grain equal to the quantity sown, or 
the sum of money which this quantity would bring at the time of pay- 
ment. This, my Lord, approaches nearer to a corn rent than I should 
have expected to have met with in these countries. 

The mode of settling wages seems to be regulated upon similar 
principles. The servant hired by the year, as well as the day- 
labourer, receives part of his pay in money, and the rest in necessaries 
or an equivalent for them. Thus, in Anatolia the wages of a servant 
hired for the year amount to about forty shillings, together with a 
shirt and trowsers, and a claim for a couple of pounds of food, 
which is generally pilaw, per diem, i. e. boiled rice mixed up with 
grease. The day-labourer receives about two-pence-halfpenny a-day, 
together with the same quantity of pilaw as the other. In Caramania 
the same custom obtains, only that in that part of the country as 



TO THE BISHOP OF DURHAM. 



193 



money is more valuable, the pecuniary payments are nearly one- 
fifth less. 

In Constantinople we have the same practice even in the palaces of 
the ambassadors, where every servant of the country, besides a certain 
fixed annual sum, receives a daily mess (consisting of one-half meat 
and one-half vegetables), weighing about 2f lbs. which he is at liberty 
to make what use of he pleases. 

It is singular, my Lord, that this mode of paying wages both to 
servants and labourers was formerly universal in England. I have 
had opportunities of examining and copying the year books of various 
religious houses from the twelfth century to the Reformation, pre- 
served in the different colleges in Cambridge, and I have always found 
that these payments were made partly in money, and partly in corn, 
principally rye. 

The practice is still very prevalent in Scotland, and I own I cannot 
but think that if something of this kind was generally enforced, it 
would be more likely to alleviate or prevent the distresses of the 
labouring poor than any thing else. To have the whole of their 
wages paid in the manner of a corn rent, would, perhaps, in times of 
great scarcity be subject to inconveniences, but surely they ought to 
receive such a proportion as would preclude anxiety for absolute sub- 
sistence. It would undoubtedly require no little consideration how 
to adapt these principles to the payment of the wages of the manu- 
facturer and artizan, as well as the husbandman, but I cannot conceive 
that it would be wholly impracticable. 

I ought to beg ten thousand pardons of Your Lordship for detain- 
ing you so long with these desultory observations, which, I fear, will 
only have shown my wish and not my power of communicating 
intelligence on subjects of this kind ; but I know with Your Lord- 
ship, though it might not with others, that wish will serve as my 
apology. 

I. D. C. 



194 



LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR CARLYLE 



LETTER V. 

My Lord, Salonica, April 27. isoi. 

Though I am not very sure that this letter may reach Your Lordship, 
yet I cannot help endeavouring to communicate to you that I have 
at length finished the investigation of all the MSS. contained on 
Mount Athos. I had always wished to make the examination of 
them as it has hitherto been in some measure a desideratum in 
literature, but the letter I received from Your Lordship, determined 
me if possible to attempt it. 

After leaving Constantinople therefore, and spending sixteen or 
seventeen most interesting days upon the Troad, I proceeded by the 
route of Tenedos and Lemnos to the Holy mountain. In my voyage 
between the two last places I was exposed to a most dreadful storm, 
which we have every reason to believe proved fatal to several vessels 
of the same size as ours, that quitted Lemnos in company with us ; 
but a merciful God thought fit to preserve us ; after being buffeted 
about in our little caique for upwards of twelve hours, we were 
safely landed under the hospitable walls of one of the monasteries in 
the peninsula of Mount Athos. As I had previously provided myself 
with letters both from the government and the Patriarch, I was 
received with every mark of kindness, and introduced into every 
repository that I wished to examine. The whole number of convents 
upon the mountain consists of twenty-two, and each of these is 
furnished with a library of MSS., more or less numerous according 
to the wealth and importance of the society to which it belongs. 
The monasteries lie at different distances from each other, and in 
fact with their dependencies of cells and farms, people the peninsula, 
into which not one female of any kind, even to a sheep or a hen is 
ever admitted. Their situation is the most various, and at the 
same time the most romantic that can be conceived. Out of the 



TO THE BISHOP OF DURHAM. 



195 



twenty-two convents, scarce two are placed on similar sites * ; but all 
are either strikingly beautiful or strikingly magnificent ; and each 
seems designed either to soothe the tedium of solitude or to awaken 



* Extract from Dr. Sibthorp's MSS. 

Sep. 25, 1794. — We coasted the western shore of Athos ; steep rocks covered with 
shrubs, traversed by deep ravines, marked with the lively verdure of evergreen -trees 
offered the most romantic sites for the monasteries and monastic cells. Several of the 
latter excavated in the rock seemed to be in situations almost inaccessible; we could 
scarcely discover the little path that conducted the hermit to his cell. Nothing could 
be more picturesque than the situation of the monasteries we passed ; they commanded 
an extensive view of the sea, and were surrounded bv the finest sylvan scenery. The 
head of a vale or ravine laid into vineyards and olive grounds was the most general 
situation ; the mountain itself broken grandly into ridges was ornamented with various 
foliage, through which was seen the slaty substance of the rock. Having cast anchor 
I was impatient to land on Athos and examine its shores, which from their verdure 
promised me a considerable addition to my Flora. On landing, I found the rock 
almost blue with the autumnal Scilla, and in the shade under the cover of the trees was 
the Cyclamen; above on the hanging cliffs, the yellow Amaryllis all in flower. This 
was a cheerful sight to a botanist who had just left the sun-burnt plains of Lemnos, and 
arid rocks of Imbros. I climbed along the shore to the port of Daphne through trees and 
shrubs, consisting of Arbor Judas, Alaternus, Phillyrea, Arbutus, Evergreen and 
Kermes oak. At Daphne, the bay mixed with the wild-olive was spread over the rocks ; 
a rivulet flowing down, watered the roots of some huge plane trees, around which the 
Smilax was entwined diffusing from its flowers a grateful odour. 

Oct. 1. — A caloyer had brought from a distant vineyard a basket of grapes, and I 
took the opportunity of having him for a conductor to visit part of the mountain, which 
from its height, promised to gratify my botanical researches. I mounted his mule and 
pursued from the beach a rugged path-way winding up the rocks ; ascending for an 
hour this rough road through evergreen shrubs, I came to a mixture of pines and 
chesnuts ; the latter were now laden with ripe fruit, and the crew of our boat that lay in 
the port of Daphne were busily employed in collecting a stock for their voyage. The 
pine did not appear to me different from the silver fir ; but I could discover no fruit upon 
it. A range of mountains cloathed with these pines encircled a beautiful plain ; here 
the convent of Xeropotamo has four Kilia or farms, where their caloyers reside. They 
were now busy in making their wine, and the vineyards were richly laden with the 
empurpled fruit ; my caloyer conducted me to his Kili ; and spread before me a rustic 
table with grapes, figs, dried cherries, walnuts, and filberds. We drunk from a 
chrystalline rill that flowed along wooden pipes, through the pine-grove from the 
mountain ; the trunks of some of the pines which I observed in my walk had been 
pierced to draw their resin from them; and many grown old had their branches 
bearded with filamentous lichens. 



196 



LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR CARLYLE 



the fervours of devotion. The scenery and the mode of life that I 
witnessed in the Holy mountain were certainly the most singular 
I ever had an opportunity of seeing before, but I trust Your Lordship 
will not think the observation of them diverted my attention from 
the more important objects of my visit, the investigation of the 
libraries ; during my stay, which consisted of rather more than 
three weeks, I think I may venture to say I did not omit examining 
one MS., which I had an opportunity of looking at on Mount Athos. 
I believe their number amounted to almost 13,000. And unless there 
may be a few ecclesiastical authors deposited in some private hands, 
I do not conceive that there are any existing on the mountain which 
we did not inspect. From the specimens of monastic libraries which 
I had before examined, I own I did not entertain much hopes of 
finding any of the grand desiderata in profane literature. And to 
confess the truth my Lord, I have not been disappointed. For 
except one copy of the Iliad, and another of the Odyssey ; a few of 
the edited plays of the different tragedians ; a copy of Pindar and 
Hesiod ; the orations of Demosthenes and iEschines ; parts of 
Aristotle ; copies of Philo and Josephus, we did not meet with any 
thing during the whole of our researches, that could be called 
classical. We found however a number of very valuable MSS. of 
the New Testament, though certainly none so old, by some centuries, 
as either the Alexandrian codex or the MS. of Beza ; indeed I think 
I have myself procured some MSS. of the N.T., from monasteries 
in the neighbourhood of Constantinople, as old as any I saw in the 
libraries of Mount Athos. We met with only two copies of parts 
of the LXXII. ; and not one MS. of any consequence, in either 
Syriac or Hebrew. There were several very beautiful MSS. of the 
different Greek fathers ; and a prodigious quantity of polemical 
divinity. The rest of the shelves were filled with lives of the saints, 
Synaxaria, Theotocaria, Liturgies, Menaia, &c, &c, all relating to 
the peculiar doctrines or offices of the Greek church. 

I have, however, my Lord, made out a very detailed catalogue of 
the whole of the contents of these celebrated repositories which I 



TO THE BISHOP OF DURHAM. 197 

hope to have the pleasure of subjecting to Your Lordship's perusal 
upon my return to England ; an event that I own I long for most 
ardently. We leave this place to-morrow and proceed to Athens by 
sea, as in the present unsettled state of this country it is impossible to 
attempt to prosecute our journey thither by land. Indeed the passage 
by sea is not over secure, as most of the bays swarm with pirates, 
(from whom we have already had two very narrow escapes,) but as 
our vessel is of a pretty large size I trust we shall not be exposed to 
any real danger. By this arrangement, I am obliged to give up all 
thoughts of examining the monasteries of the Peneus, (which I had 
projected,) as well as the sight of the vale of Tempe. But as every 
person here declares that the roads are unsafe, I am obliged to submit. 
I shall however be able to visit the isle of Delos, (the only one of 
any consequence in the Archipelago which I have not seen,) and to 
get more expeditiously to Athens. After spending a little time at 
Athens I mean to proceed to Malta, and from thence, (as I have 
small hopes that an Englishman can travel with any safety through 
Italy and over the Continent,) immediately home. 

I. D. C. 



( 198 ) 



MOUNT ATHOS. 

AN ACCOUNT OF THE MONASTIC INSTITUTIONS AND THE LIBRARIES ON 

THE HOLY MOUNTAIN. 



After our tedious abode at Lemnos, and the violence of the storm 
which we had experienced, we were gratified in no common degree 
with the view of the convent of Batopaidi, embosomed in the midst 
of gardens, woods, and meadows. We had reached a small creek at 
the foot of it, but the surf was so high that we scrambled with diffi- 
culty over the rocks, and as soon as we landed we pursued a road 
which led through groves of lemons, oranges, and olives, to the 
monastery. On reaching the gate we found the approach more like 
that of a fortress than the peaceful abode of monks. The lofty walls 
were flanked with towers, and many cannon appeared at the em- 
brasures. The outer gate was doubly plated with iron ; a long dark 
winding passage led from it, in which were two guns on carriages, and 
three more gates secured by strong bolts and bars. We found all the 
Monks and Caloyers (or Lay Brothers) in the great church. The 
Principal being informed of our arrival, one of the provosts was sent to 
us, who, after reading our letter from the Greek Patriarch of Constan- 
tinople, desired us to wait a few minutes until the service was over, 
when the Abbot (or Hegoumenos) would pay his respects. The be- 
haviour of the Monks in general was hospitable and polite ; and dur- 
ing our residence of five days among them seemed to regret that the 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



199 



concourse of uncivilized and noisy pilgrims, assembled for the Holy 
Week, prevented them from being more attentive to us. 

On Easter-day there were above fifteen hundred people who dined 
in the court-yard of this convent, principally Albanian, Bulgarian, and 
Wallachian Greeks. It appears, as soon as the oppressed Christian 
peasants in the neighbouring Turkish provinces have saved a little 
money, or when pirates and freebooters have made a successful sally, 
they set out on a pilgrimage to this Holy mountain, where they not 
only get a plenary absolution by giving up part of their gains, but 
enjoy the luxury of hearing a perpetual din of bells, and the sight of 
splendid churches, pictures of saints, and wonder-working reliques. 
The monastery of Batopaidi is a large irregular pile, standing on high 
ground, overlooking the sea, and having some lofty towers within it, 
as well for the purpose of watch-towers, as for a retreat in case of an 
attack from pirates. The number of priests and friars within the 
walls is about two hundred and fifty ; and there are about two hun- 
dred and fifty more in the farms, gardens, and vineyards of the con- 
vent. They have one large handsome church and twenty-six smaller 
ones. Their vineyards furnish about one thousand caricos of wine 
annually, of ninety okes each, but they generally buy a great deal from 
Negropont, Scopolo, and other islands. They bake six hundred okes 
of flour, half barley and half wheat, in a week ; and in the hands of 
the congregation who attended at the great church on Easter-day, 
they reckoned eight hundred and sixty wax candles. They are forced 
to give lodging and food to any stranger who presents himself at the 
gate, and to depend on his devotion or his ability to repay them. To 
defray all these expenses and such others as are incurred by keeping 
the buildings and aqueducts of the convent in repair, besides the in- 
terest of borrowed money and the exactions of the Porte, they seem 
principally to rely on the precarious offerings of pilgrims, and on the 
sums collected by their mendicant brethren in Russia, Moldavia, 
Wallachia, and such other countries as profess the Greek creed. 
Their own lands on Mount Athos produce little except vegetables, 
grapes, and fuel, and their estates in Russia and Moldavia are almost 



200 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



nominal. The Court of St. Petersburgh makes them an annual pre- 
sent of about two hundred rubles (301.) 

On a hill adjoining the convent, and surrounded by fine woods, is a 
large school or academy where ancient Greek was taught : but in 
consequence of the deficiency of the funds of the institution, this use- 
ful seminary has been shut up. It contains a lodge for the master, 
about one hundred and seventy small rooms for students ; and is 
supplied with water by an acqueduct carried over a long line of 
arches. If fine air, romantic scenery, and seclusion from the dissipa- 
tion of the world be favorable to study, this academy should be restored. 
Forty years ago, the master of it was the celebrated Eugenius, a native 
of Corfu, and formerly schoolmaster at Ioannina in Epirus. His pro- 
found knowledge of ancient Greek, as well as of different branches of 
history and philosophy, soon raised the reputation of the academy at 
Batopaidi ; and instead of seven caloyers, whom he found on his 
arrival learning to read the homilies of the Greek church, he was 
able in a short time to reckon two hundred youths of respectable 
families, not only from Greece, but from Germany, Venice, and Rus- 
sia. At length the envy of the caloyers raised a number of calum- 
nies concerning the morals of the master and students, which ended 
in his retiring with disgust ; and the ruin of the school immediately 
followed. Eugenius resided sometime after this at Constantino- 
ple, as Didascalos, or Lecturer in the Patriarchal church. The 
reputation of his eloquence and learning induced the Empress Cathe- 
rine to invite him to Petersburgh ; and she afterwards advanced him 
to the See of Chersonesus. Of his literary productions one of the 
most celebrated is his translation of the iEneid into Greek hexame- 
ter verse. 

The convent paid last year to the Porte fifteen thousand piastres 
(3501.) as an extraordinary contribution, besides the usual capitation 
and other taxes ; and it now appears to be forty thousand piastres in 
debt for sums borrowed at interest. Our principal object being to 
examine the ancient manuscripts in the different convents of Mount 
Athos, we found we could not have arrived at a more unpropitious 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



201 



moment. The attention of the whole convent was directed to the dif- 
ferent caravans of pilgrims, who were arriving at every instant ; they 
were in general well mounted, each of them armed with a musket, a 
pair of pistols, and a sword. After dinner, their mirth became ex- 
tremely noisy, and my companion, Mr. Carlyle, who wished much to 
know the subject of their songs, found they were very similar to the 
old border songs in England, describing either the petty wars of 
neighbouring Agas, or the successful opposition on the part of the 
Albanians to Pashas sent from the Turkish court. 

Our stay being thus delayed at Batopaidi, until the Easter festivals 
were over, we had an opportunity of forming some acquaintances in 
the convent. The Pro-Hegoumenos, the Secretary, and the Didascalos 
all men of letters, as well as a Bishop of Triccala, who having been 
exiled by the Porte from his see had chosen this convent for his resi- 
dence. On our showing to him a manuscript of Josephus in the 
convent library, and expressing our regret that we could not recollect 
where the controverted passage was which speaks of Christ, he al- 
most instantly pointed it out to us, but added, at the same time, that 
though such a passage, written by a Jew, would be a strong confirm- 
ation of the divine mission of Christ, yet that the manuscript we were 
examining* was of a date too recent to determine whether it might not 
be an interpolation of the original text. We also visited the vener- 
able Ex-Patriarch of the Greek church, Procopio, who had been 
banished hither fifteen years ago from his throne at Constantinople. 
He took no share in the affairs of the convent, but I perceived he was 
treated with great attention, and his hand kissed with as much vener- 
ation as if he had still retained the power as well as the title of 
Patriarch, for he was always addressed navayior^Tela-ac, " All Holi- 
ness." He had formerly been Bishop of Smyrna, and spoke of the 



* The passage is in Antiq. xviii. 4. 798. It is found in all the copies of Josephus' 
work now extant, both printed and in MS. ; in a Hebrew translation kept in the Vatican 
Library, and in an Arabic translation preserved by the Maronites of Mount Libanus. 
Hale's Chronology, vol. ii. part 2. 951. 

D D 



202 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



English whom he had known there in terms of attachment. He 
observed, that the Greek and English churches differed very little 
from each other in the grand articles of their creed, and regretted 
the causes of those divisions which broke and interrupted so much 
the unity of Christian worship. He mentioned having baptized 
the child of an English nobleman who was visiting Smyrna, the 
father considering immersion more conformable to the practice of 
the Apostles than sprinkling. 

Our inquiries respecting the library of the convent were always 
evaded, and at length we were told that the manuscripts were merely 
rituals and liturgies of the Greek church, and in very bad condition. 
On pressing our request to be admitted to see them, and adding that 
it had been the primary object of our visit, we were shown into a 
room where these old tattered volumes were thrown together in the 
greatest confusion, mostly without beginning or end, worm-eaten, 
damaged by mice, and mouldy with damp. Assisted by three of 
those whom I have mentioned, we took an accurate catalogue, exa- 
mining each mutilated volume separately and minutely. We found 
copies of the New Testament, not older than the twelfth and 
thirteenth centuries, and a variety of theological works, of Chrysos- 
tom, Basil, Gregory of Nazianzum, and others, and an infinity of 
liturgies, canons, and church histories. The only interesting manu- 
scripts we saw were two tragedies of iEschylus, the Iliad, a copy of 
that very ancient poem the Batrachomyomachia * ; the works of 
Demosthenes, Athenaeus, Lysias, Galen, some parts of Aristotle, 
Hippocrates, and Plato ; two copies of the Apocalypse, and the 
Jewish history of Josephus : but none of them bore marks of remote 
antiquity. We requested permission to take them to England, for 
the purpose of having them collated with our printed copies ; but the 
Hegoumenos said, he could not grant it, without express leave in 
writing from the Patriarch of Constantinople. 



* Cujus carminis auctor, si non Homerus, utique vetustissimus. Hemster. in Th. 
Mag. 26. 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



203 



The water with which this convent and its gardens are supplied is 
brought thither in an open canal from a distance of some miles. It is 
conducted along the sides of the mountains, and sometimes crosses 
the glens and vallies in most picturesque situations. A walk shaded 
by trees runs along the whole extent of this stream, which we often 
followed up to its source in a romantic cleft of the mountain, where 
there is a fine natural cascade. In one of our rambles near the monas- 
tery, we went to a small building, and to our surprise and horror 
found it filled with piles of skulls of such Monks and Caloyers as have 
died within the walls of the convent. A little church, dedicated to 
all the saints, is placed over this awful repository of mortality. By the 
canons of the order, no Caloyer or Monk can eat meat, except in case 
of great or extreme illness. He must also abstain from eggs, oil, and 
fish*, on all Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The food on those 
days is restricted to bread, salted olives, and vegetable soup. This is 
made of dried peas, beans, or other pulse ; onions and leeks : the latter 
grow to a most extraordinary size. The Hegoumenos assured us they 
sometimes weighed an oke (or 2f lbs. avoirdupois) each. 

No woman is suffered to enter the gates of this, or even of any other 
convent on the Holy mountain-f*, ( gens (eterna, in qua nemo nascitur;) 
nor is any female animal permitted to come upon the peninsula, a 
prejudice to which the Turks conform by not allowing the Vaivode at 
Chariess to have any woman with him during the period of his govern- 
ment. A still more whimsical regulation is, that neither cows, ewes, 
or hens are suffered to be brought to the peninsula ; the inhabitants, 



* On the peninsula of Athos, Belon found the river crab, cancer Jluviatilis ; it is con- 
sidered a great delicacy, and is eaten by the Greeks in many pai'ts of Turkey, in Lent 
time. " Les Caloires les mangent cruds, et nous asseurent," says Belon, " qu'ils estoyent 
meilleurs que cuicts." They are found near Aleppo, and are there in perfection in the 
season of the white mulberries; the ripe fruit scattered on the ground under the trees is 
eaten by them. — Russell, ii. 221. 

f " 'Oo yvvccixcov IxeV £ovauA<a," says Nicephorus Gregoras, in his account of Mount 
Athos, lib. xiv. The words in the text are those of Pliny, when speaking of the Thera- 
peutae. 

D D 2 



204 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



therefore, have no milk, butter, cheese, or eggs, except when these 
articles are imported from Thasos and Lemnos, or from Macedonia, 
across the Isthmus. We saw milk sold at seven-pence an oke, when 
wine only cost two-pence. They use oxen for ploughing, and mules 
for riding. The superstitious or artful caloyers repeat gravely to 
every stranger who visits them, that no female animal could live three 
days on Mount Athos, although they see doves and other birds build- 
ing their nests in the thickets, swallows hatching their young under the 
sheds, and vermin multiplying in their dirty cells and on their persons. 

While we were walking one day on the beach, we observed that a 
ship had arrived, to which the priests and caloyers immediately 
repaired ; and received from the hands of the captain a silver box, 
containing what was called a relic of the zone or girdle of the Virgin 
Mary. It appeared that it had been borrowed from the convent for 
a great sum, in order to stop the progress of some epidemic disorder 
at a town on the shores of the Black Sea, and was now brought back 
to be deposited in the treasury of the convent. 

On Easter-Monday, after a stay of five days, we set out with 
mules provided for us by the convent, to the town of Chariess, in the 
centre of the peninsula, where the Turkish Aga, and the council of 
deputies from all the convents reside for the dispatch of public 
business. It was necessary to make this visit, in order that our 
imperial firman and our letter from the Greek Patriarch might be 
examined, and that we might be informed how to make the tour of 
the convents with the greatest ease and security. The distance from 
Batopaidi to Chariess, is two hours and three quarters. About 
three miles from the former we had a most striking view of the 
summit of Athos. This has been estimated by Delambre at 713 
toises. The whole ride furnishes a succession of sublime Alpine 
scenery. Instead of the usual salutations which are exchanged 
between travellers who meet on the road, the only one we now heard 
was the Easter congratulation, " Christ is risen to which the 
answer is, " He is the true God." We found the deputies living 
together at Chariess in a very humble style : they were four in 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



205 



number ; and after reading our letters of introduction, they assured 
us, that we might visit every part of the Holy mountain in perfect 
security without a guard. We then waited on the Turkish Aga, who 
had the civil jurisdiction of the peninsula ; he was a young man 
belonging to the corps of Bostangees or life-guards of the Grand 
Seignior ; and no situation can be conceived more ridiculous than that 
in which we found him. His house adjoined the great church of 
Chariess, called Protaton, round which a number of idle boys, and 
some hundreds of noisy pilgrims were assembled. The bells were 
ringing*, cannons and muskets incessantly firing; some were 
chanting the liturgy in honour of the Christian festival of Easter, 
while the Mahometan Aga, jovially drunk, was smoking his pipe in 
the midst of them. 

Chariess is the only town in the peninsula ; situated nearly in the 
centre of it, on the side of a natural amphitheatre, clothed with the 
richest verdure, and cultivated in a manner to render it highly 
picturesque. The meadows are so luxuriant as to be cut thrice in a 
year, owing to the richness of the soil, the complete shelter they 
enjoy, and the judicious manner in which the water is distributed by 
irrigation. The vineyards and filberd gardens are also dressed with 
uncommon care. Excepting the houses where the Aga and the 
council of deputies reside, it contains only a few shops which furnish 
the monasteries with cloth, shoes, watches, wooden clocks, and other 
articles ; and the few luxuries allowed to the monks of the Holy 
mountain, such as coffee, sugar, tobacco, snuff, and cordials. Every 
Saturday a bazar or market is held here, to which the hermits repair 
in order to sell what they have manufactured in their solitary huts. 
Knit stockings, pictures of saints, a few simple oils and essences 



* In a few places only of the Turkish dominions are the Greeks allowed the use of bells ; 
the common mode of notifying the hour of prayer is by striking on a board. This 
custom is of ancient date; it was observed in the Christian monasteries before the time 
of Mahomet II,, who at first adopted it from the Christians of Syria and Arabia. The 
practice of calling people to prayers from the top of the Minaret was afterwards sub- 
stituted. — Beckmann. H. of I. 3. 



206 MOUNT ATHOS. 

distilled from plants, common knives and forks, (on the horn handles 
of which they engrave, with aqua-fortis, a series of ancient Greek 
moral adages,) compose their principal labours. The trade of making 
manuscripts is still practised by them ; many devout pilgrims 
preferring a psalter or prayer-book written by a hermit on the Holy 
mountain to the clearest printed copy. Women are prevented from 
coming to the town, as well as from visiting any of the convents ; 
nor is any Musulman permitted to have a shop there. The situation 
of the Turkish governor at Chariess, although certainly far from com- 
fortable, is very lucrative. During his residence there he is deprived 
of his harem, and we saw only one Turkish servant waiting on him ; 
but during the two years of his superintendance, he will have amassed 
a sum sufficient to give him pretensions to the post of Bostangee 
Bashi, or commander of the Sultan's life-guards. The monks seem 
to have been successful in converting him from one Mahometan 
prejudice at least ; for he now drinks wine as freely as any Greek 
in the empire. 

From this town, where the voice of women and the cries of 
infants are never heard, we proceeded to the adjoining convent of 
Coutloumoussi. It is situated in the midst of gardens, and meadows, 
and the buildings are in good repair. There are about sixty caloyers 
within the walls of the convent, and the principal Hegoumenos was 
a polite, accomplished scholar. We visited the library the morning 
after our arrival, but found it composed principally of printed books. 
We took a catalogue of such manuscripts as were among them, near 
forty of which are of the Gospels. One of them is in uncial 
characters, but with accents ; and some others seemed more ancient 
than those of Batopaidi, and are beautifully illuminated. We saw 
also a few copies of the Acts of the Apostles, and of some of the 
works of the Greek fathers ; a number of Liturgies, Menaia, and 
other ecclesiastical rituals, but not a shred of a classical author. 

On our leaving the convent, we were accompanied to the gate by 
the principal caloyers and Hegoumenos, and saluted with a discharge 
of their cannon. We were escorted by a caloyer and guards ; but 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



207 



rather as a mark of honour than of precaution against robbers ; as 
caravans of well-armed Albanian and Bulgarian pilgrims were 
traversing the mountain in almost every direction from convent to 
convent. In an hour and a half's ride, we reached the monastery 
of Pantocratoras, built on a rock at the bottom of a small bay. 
After the noise and bustle of the preceding seven days, we were 
much pleased with the retreat afforded us by this convent. The 
caloyers are about forty in number; the few books which they 
possess are kept in the church, but among them there is not one 
historical or classical volume, either printed or in manuscript. 
They have a few copies of different parts of the sacred writings ; 
one in the hand-writing of the Emperor Alexius Commenus their 
founder, who is buried here, containing the four Gospels, and 
another of older date, beginning with the book of Genesis, and 
ending with Ruth. 

This convent has some lands near Salonica, and others in the 
island of Thasos. As we were taking leave of the Hegoumenos at 
the door of his church, we saw a most ferocious band approaching, 
firing their muskets and pistols, and shouting most riotously. They 
were all well-mounted, and had come from the mountains of the 
Balkan, the Thracian Haemus, on a pilgrimage to the holy peninsula, 
a distance of fourteen conacks, averaged at twelve hours each. We 
staid to see their devotions, which did not seem to be less fervent 
on account of their ignorance of the language in which the masses 
were said. I observed a number of sequins and other gold coins 
among the offerings made by them to the church ; an account of 
which the Epitropos entered in a book, as well as the number of 
masses to be said, and the names of the persons recommended by 
these pious travellers. 

The orangeries and the groves of myrtles planted around the 
convent are rilled with nightingales, which continued to sing in- 
cessantly, by day as well as by night, almost preventing our sleep. 
We left the monastery after breakfast, and went in the boat of the 
convent to Stavroniketa, a distance of about two miles and a half. 



208 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



We lodged in an apartment which had been occupied by an exiled 
archbishop ; the windows command a view of almost every object 
that a painter could wish to combine in a landscape ; bold craggy 
rocks, which in some parts beetle over the sea, and in others, afford 
little nooks where the caloyers enjoy the shade and breeze ; the 
winding shore, with hanging groves of orange and other fruit trees, 
broken by wild glens running up the country ; and the monastery of 
Pantocratoras, with its walls, domes, and turrets embosomed in wood, 
closing the scene. 

Stavroniketa is a small convent of the fourth class, containing 
about forty monks. Its gardens are in most excellent order. A 
long aqueduct, which must have cost a very considerable sum, supplies 
them plentifully with water ; and by means of this they can irrigate 
every spot with such nice precision, as to make their crops almost 
independent of rain. In the church of this convent we saw a very 
ancient portrait in Mosaic of the Patron Saint Nicholas ; it had been 
much injured, the monks told us, by the rage of the barbarians ; a 
name, I supposed, which they gave to the Turks ; but on inquiry, I 
found they meant the partizans of their own Emperor in the eighth 
century, who attempted to abolish the use of images in the Greek 
churches. We examined the library of the convent, and took a 
catalogue of the manuscripts, which are wholly ecclesiastical. We 
then went in the boat of the convent to Iveron, a large monastery of 
the first class, built, as Leo Allatius informs us, in honorem Deiparce. 
It contains about two hundred caloyers within its walls. Besides the 
pilgrims we found amongst the guests another exiled Patriarch of 
Constantinople, two archbishops, and some bishops, his brother 
exiles. The expences of this convent, including contributions to the 
Porte and borrowed money, are calculated at 6000/. or 7000/. 
sterling, per annum. The day after our arrival, we dined with the 
Ex-Patriarch Gregorio, who has been two years in exile here. The 
hour of dinner was nine o'clock in the morning ; we found his table 
furnished in a style quite ex-conventual, with lamb, sausages, hams, 
and French wines. His dispensing power seems to remain although 



MOUNT ATHOS. 209 

he is dethroned ; and seven or eight of the sallad-fed monks who 
dined with us, appeared to be much pleased with their change of 
diet. His conversation seemed to indicate that he looked forward 
to be reinstated in his honors. We were told he had been 
banished by a cabal of rich bishops, whom he commanded to leave 
the luxuries and intrigues of Constantinople, and to reside in their 
respective dioceses ; but their influence with the princely families in 
the Fanal, and the Dragoman of the Porte had procured his exile, 
and the appointment of a less rigid head of the Church. He told 
us, he was born in Arcadia ; he appears to have made little progress 
in ancient Greek literature or in modern science. 

Towards the close of dinner a stranger entered, who was received 
with much respect. He was called Methodius, and belonged to the 
order of caloyers, who were named Megaloschemi. A most re- 
markable length of beard, irusyw which after unrolling a kind 
of shawl, he discovered to us, has probably gained him more respect 
from the superstitious Greeks, than if the talents and learning of a 
Chrysostom, or a Basil had been conferred on him in its stead.* 
• The library at Iveron was so large, and the printed books so 
much mixed with manuscripts, that we were forced to spend two 
fatiguing days in examining them and making a catalogue. Amidst 
some hundred ecclesiastical manuscripts, we found parts of iEschylus, 
Euripides, and Aristophanes ; the Electra and Ajax Mastigophorus 
of Sophocles, Pindar, Hesiod, and Demosthenes ; selections from 
Galen and Aristotle ; some imperfect Greek lexicons ; the works of 
Libanius the Sophist, and Philo Judseus. None of these bear 
marks of great antiquity ; and from the commentary which surrounds 
the text, in a kind of Greek called Mixo-barbaros, they seem to 
have belonged to some schoolmaster. 

As the road we were now about to take towards Santa Laura and 
the hermitages would conduct us amongst crags and mountains, 



* Methodius with his ai-o^a vaiywvot /3a'0>j, was at Constantinople in the year 1806, 
where we saw him. 

E E 



210 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



and to places where there are few mules to be procured, we left the 
greatest part of our baggage to be sent across the Isthmus to the 
convent of Xeropotamo, there to wait our arrival ; the Hegoumenos 
previously requesting us to seal each parcel with our own seals. The 
road from Iveron to Philotheo, presents a succession of very 
picturesque scenery ; particularly the ruined convent of Mylo- 
Potamos, now a kellia or farm-house belonging to Iveron ; it is 
placed in a little green valley near the sea ; a clear glittering stream 
winds its course through it ; and the mountains around are covered 
with overhanging woods up to their summits. The convent of 
Philotheo is small, but the church more rich and splendid than the 
rest of the edifice leads us to expect. We passed the night there, 
and in the morning took a catalogue of their manuscripts. Little is 
worthy of notice amongst them, excepting a beautiful copy of the 
Gospels and one of the Acts, Epistles, and Revelations ; the rest 
are ecclesiastical. We rode next to the monastery of Caracalla, 
which is about four miles distant. Amongst the manuscripts, we 
found a treatise in small characters, accented and contracted ; the 
commentary surrounding the text is in beautiful uncial letters ; these 
are in general supposed to be older in date than the characters 
formed by the connected mode of writing ; but in this instance, they 
must have been subsequent to them. A miscellaneous compilation 
containing part of Demosthenes, of Justin translated into Greek, of 
the Hecuba of Euripides, and the first book of Euclid, and some 
verses are the only classical fragments. The verses are from Hesiod 
and from the Batrachomyomachia of Homer. On the next day we 
went in the boat of the convent to Santa Laura ; and were four 
hours on the passage, having the lofty snow-clad summits of Athos 
continually in our view, appearing to rise perpendicularly from the 
waves. At this grand convent there are about two hundred caloyers 
within the walls ; they calculate their annual expences at thirty 
thousand piastres, in addition to forty thousand piastres interest, 
for money borrowed and funded. The noise and confusion we 
observed within the place, reminded us more of an inn than of a 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



211 



convent, and instead of the attentions hitherto shewn to us, and 
which had almost always anticipated our wants, we were forced to 
send the Patriarch's letter, and afterwards the firman of the Grand 
Signor before we could procure a room to sleep in. When we were 
admitted to the library, we found the Didascalos seated there with 
a large book before him, in Arabic with a Latin version. Mr. Carlyle 
soon discovered that this important personage did not know even the 
Arabic alphabet, and that his acquaintance with Latin did not enable 
him to translate it ; so that his intention of imposing himself on us 
as a profound scholar was severely disappointed. We had been told 
that the most valuable manuscripts of the convent had lately been 
sold, or at least concealed from strangers ; but every person whom 
we now addressed on the subject denied the charge. The book of 
Job with a commentary and illuminations, of Proverbs, of the Wisdom 
of the son of Sirach, sixty-one copies of the Gospels, and the 
History of Susannah were amongst the most curious of the sacred 
manuscripts. Of the classical, we may mention two copies of Galen 
well preserved ; Demosthenes ; the first and second books of the 
Iliad ; part of Pindar ; some Lexicons, Apthonius the Sophist, and 
Photius. 

The church of Santa Laura contains some fine columns and slabs of 
Verd-antique marble ; and there is a greater appearance of splendor 
in every part of the establishment of this convent than in any other 
on Mount Athos. A caloyer was assigned us as our guide to conduct 
us to the hermitage of St. Anne ; our ride, under a scorching sun, 
was rendered more fatiguing, as we were forced to dismount very 
frequently. At length we arrived at the romantic crags and dells 
where the hermitages of St. Anne are placed ; and were refreshed by 
the oranges, which grow there in abundance. Our accommodations 
among the hermits were comfortless ; their cells being filthy, and 
swarming with vermin. The library at the church of St. Anne con- 
tains a few recent manuscripts of Gregory Nazianzenus, and other 
ecclesiastical writers. The natural scenery here is particularly strik- 
ing, and the summit of Athos, once consecrated by the fane and altars 

e e 2 



212 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



of the Athoan Jove*, rears itself with awful grandeur above the sur- 
rounding mountains. The manner in which the torrents, breaking 
from the cliffs above St. Anne's, are distributed by a thousand little 
wooden aqueducts, so as to water every spot of garden or vineyard, is 
worthy of being remarked. Falling from terrace to terrace in cas- 
cades, they occasionally unite, to pass through tunnels of wicker-work 
to turn the water-mills for grinding corn. The woods and thickets in 
the neighbourhood are extremely luxuriant, and the Andrachne arbu- 
tus flourishes in such profusion as to supply the common fuel. The 
season was unfavorable for our visiting the summit of Athos, whence 
the monks assured us that all the islands of the Cyclades may be seen, 
and even Constantinople, in clear weather. They reckon it a journey 
of five hours from the hermitages to the top of Mount Athos. 

From St. Anne's we had a hot and fatiguing walk to the monastery 
of St. Paul. This edifice was originally founded for Bulgarian Monks, 
but it is no w filled solely by Greeks. In their library we examined near- 
ly five hundred old manuscripts ; but they were all in the Illyric or 
Servian language, except a Greek psalter of no value. The present 
Emperor of Russia, Paul, has been prevailed upon by some travelling 
caloyers to send a sum of money hither to repair and beautify the 
convent and church. It is thus that Russia keeps up the attachment of 
the Greeks ; the smallest gift bestowed towards adorning or rebuild- 
ing these monasteries is certain of meeting the gratitude of thousands 
of pilgrims who visit the holy mountain ; while they naturally draw 
a comparison little in favor of their own sovereign, the Grand Sig- 
nor, when they hear from the monks the most exaggerated accounts 
of the sums levied on their convents. There are about thirty-five 
caloyers in this monastery j and the picturesque effect of the scenery 
around it is much increased by the view of a torrent which comes 
from the mountain, and tumbling from rock to rock, and occasionally 
covered by woods, here enters the sea almost in a foam. 



* Zeu; AQwoc, v. Hesych. 



« 



MOUNT ATHOS. 213 

We proceeded on foot towards the convent of Dionysio, one of the 
first class, and containing about two hundred monks. Here we found 
M. Frangopolo, formerly chief interpreter to the Prussian Legation at 
Constantinople. As we had taken letters to him, he received us 
with the utmost attention. He had retired to this spot from the 
scenes of active life ; had assumedthe habit of a caloyer, and scrupu- 
lously conformed in almost every point to the rules of monastic 
discipline. He accompanied us to the library of the convent, con- 
taining, principally, writings of the fathers, and some copies of the 
New Testament, one of which was in uncial characters. We saw 
part of the Iliad with a commentary, but not very ancient ; some 
selections from Demosthenes, Libanius, and Dionysius the Areopa- 
gite, a tragedy of Gregory Nazianzenus, and the Aphorisms of 
Hippocrates. 

We proceeded in the boat of the monastery to the adjoining con- 
vent of St. Gregorio. It is of the fourth class, and is calculated to 
contain about a hundred caloyers, one of whom we found well 
versed in ancient Greek. As this convent was burnt down a few 
years ago, the library had no manuscripts to detain us. We there 
became acquainted with Father Joachim, who had been mentioned 
to us as having a beard that rivalled the famous one of Methodius. 
We found it of a surprising length, reaching about an inch below his 
knees. In the venerable caloyer himself we discovered great simpli- 
city of character. He had travelled over almost all European Turkey, 
and the shores of the Black Sea, begging alms for his convent. On 
different visits to the Fanal at Constantinople, he has paid his homage 
to twenty-four Patriarchs, namely, fourteen Grand Patriarchs of the 
Greek church ; four of Alexandria ; and six of Jerusalem. Such is 
the rapid succession to those envied dignities ! 

We were conveyed in the boat of the monastery to the foot of the 
mountain on which Simopetra is placed, and after an hour's climbing 
up a rock, nearly perpendicular, we reached this singular edifice. 
The view from its external gallery is one of the most awful and terrific 



214 MOUNT ATHOS. 

that can be conceived. * The spectator looking down, feels as if he 
were suspended over a gloomy abyss ; the forests, nox nemorum, and 
craggy rocks beneath his feet, add to the solemnity of the scene. On 
turning the eyes upwards, the summit of Athos presents itself, covered 
with snow. The moon and stars in this clear atmosphere seemed to 
have a peculiar splendor, and the planet Venus shone with an extra- 
ordinary brilliancy of light. 

The Hegoumenos or Abbot of the convent was absent, having been 
sent for to Chariess, to assist at a meeting of the chiefs of the Holy 
mountain, to take into consideration a firman that had just been re- 
ceived from the Porte, demanding a supply of ship timber for the 
arsenals of the Grand Signor. As the Monks possess no means of 
transporting it to the sea, they would have to make a commutation 
for the required service by paying a large sum of money. We were 
told that this monastery had become bankrupt during the administra- 
tion of its late Hegoumenos, and had incurred a debt of thirty-five 
thousand piastres l in consequence of which all its moveables, church- 
plate, and other articles were sold, and the Governor and Monks 
expelled. After remaining some time abandoned, a new Epitropos 
has been sent from Wallachia to restore it, and we had heard so high a 



* Extract from Dr. Sibthorp's Journal. 

" Sept. 28. — We were still detained at anchor in the bay of Daphne ; we rowed in our 
boat to the convent of St. Nicholas, situated on a rock projecting over the sea. The mo- 
nastery had been burnt down some years since, and lately rebuilt. To vary the scene, we 
determined to return to the bay by land ; we began our walk attended by two caloyers ; a 
meandering way, hewn through the rocks, which were covered with evergreen shrubs, con- 
ducted us in an hour to the convent of Simopetra. The venerable Hegoumenos stood at 
the gate and bade us welcome. We were led by him through many a winding path to the 
tower of his castellated monastery. Romance has not figured a situation more wild and 
picturesque ; here was a sublimity of scenery beyond what I ever recollected to have seen. 
The eye commanded avast expanse of the JEgean sea; distinguished clearly numerous 
islands that were scattered in it ; surveyed the Gulf of Athos, and returning back to the 
wooded region of the mountain, beheld the deepened dell, above which boldly rose to a 
tremendous height the craggy precipice on which this building was raised." 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



215 



character of his literature and polished manners, that we severely felt 
the loss we sustained by his absence. On our forwarding a note to 
him at Chariess for the key of the room, where the manuscripts were 
deposited, he sent it to us, with a polite answer, expressive of his 
regret at his being prevented from waiting on us. We found in the 
library nineteen copies of the Gospels in ancient character and in 
good preservation ; three of the Acts and the Epistles, and a number 
of ecclesiastical writings. 

Having descended the steep rock of Simopetra, we rowed for two 
hours in the fishing boat of the monastery to Xeropotamo. Here we 
found the spring much advanced ; the roses in the garden were full- 
blown. The situation of this convent is very pleasing to the eye, the 
ground gradually rises to it in a gentle swell from the sea, and is 
covered with flowering shrubs, olive trees, and thickets. It com- 
mands a view of both the gulfs of Monte Santo and Cassandra, stud- 
ded with islands. There are seventy caloyers within the walls, and the 
convent is classed among those of the third size. The buildings are 
in good preservation, and the great court contains a number of ancient 
busts and bas-reliefs on the walls, which were sent hither by a Prince 
of W allachia. The church is new, and not inelegant in its construc- 
tion ; but the Greeks have covered it within and without with tasteless 
representations of the martyrdom of saints, and the visions of the Apo- 
calypse. In the library we found a manuscript of Genesis in Hebrew, 
one very ancient of the Gospels in Greek ; many more recent ; some 
selections, probably by a schoolmaster of the convent, from classical 
authors, and many theological treatises. At the port is a broken slab 
of Parian marble, with an inscription containing a decree of the 
senate and people of Iasus in Asia Minor, bestowing privileges on 
some individual who had been a benefactor to them. 

There now remained eight convents on the peninsula, which we 
had not yet examined, and five of them so small, that they could not 
protect us against the pirates, who, we were informed, were in some 
boats at anchor in the little bay of Gregorio, if they should meditate 
attacks upon us. But as we had already executed so large a portion 



216 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



of our task and had it so much at heart to complete our examination 
of all the Greek manuscripts on Mount Athos, we resolved to proceed 
on foot, as the roads were impassable even for the mules, and the 
risque by sea appeared to be too great. When we arrived at Russico, 
we found a few monks only, and the monastery contained neither 
printed nor manuscript books, except the liturgies of their church. 

April 16. — After an hour's walk we reached the monastery of 
Xenophou, which is reported to be placed in an unhealthy aguish air. 
The inhabitants have therefore begged and borrowed money to re- 
build it in a better situation, and yet have chosen a spot not fifty 
paces from the walls of the present convent, pretending that it is 
beyond the line of the Mal-aria. They are proceeding on a grand 
scale, and in a very expensive way. We found here a Greek called 
Panayotaki Baylas of Zagora in Macedonia, who had retired with fifty 
thousand piastres acquired by trade in Constantinople, and has adopted 
the monastic life. The rules of this convent are different from those 
of any other on the holy mountain. It is called Csenobium Xenophou, 
and ordains that no person belonging to the society shall possess any 
semblance of property, or live in private. The caloyers therefore do 
not only dine and sleep in large rooms together, instead of having 
each a separate cell, as in other convents, but when any individual 
wants a change of linen or any other article he must apply to the 
abbot or keeper of the stock of the community. The only books in 
their library were theological, and among them few of any value, ex- 
cept four manuscripts of the Gospels. About a quarter of an hour 
further is the monastery of Docheiriou, of the second class. The 
rooms for receiving strangers and pilgrims of distinction are elegant. 
Their library contained eighteen manuscripts of the Gospels, and a 
considerable number of theological works. 

The whole country now presented a beautiful appearance, looking 
like a garden, and adorned with roses, hawthorns, and the Judas tree. 
In a retired vale, surrounded by forests, is the little convent of Con- 
stamoneta. In their church we found a manuscript copy of a tragedy 
of iEschyhis, the Seven Chiefs at Thebes, and part of Hesiod. 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



217 



Though the sun was setting, and the road to the next monastery long 
and dangerous, yet we resolved to proceed rather than pass the night 
with so rude and inhospitable a body of caloyers as we found at Con- 
stamoneta. Their Hegoumenos or Abbot is a native of Maina, the 
ancient Eleuthero-Laconia. A beggar passing some months ago by 
the door of this convent, asked the accustomed alms of bread and 
wine, on which the porter told him that the Abbot had strictly for- 
bidden him to distribute any more, as the convent was poor, and 
scarcely able to support its own members. In the course of convers- 
ation the beggar asked how the convent became so poor, and on the 
porter's not being able to give a satisfactory answer, he replied, I will 
inform you. There were two brothers who dwelt in this convent at 
its first foundation, and on them its happiness solely depended. Your 
tyrannical Abbot forced one of them into exile ; the other soon fled, 
and with them, your prosperity. But, be assured, that until you recal 
your elder brother, you will continue poor. What were their names ? 
said the wondering caloyer. The expelled brother, replied the 
beggar, was called &i%re, and the name of him who followed was 
AoQjc-ETa: (Give, and it shall be given unto you. Luke, vi. 38.) 

We arrived late at Zografou, and finding the gates locked, were 
told that, in the absence of the Abbot, they dared not open them at 
such an hour. On putting, however, the Patriarch's recommendatory 
letter under the door, a priest came and read it, and immediately 
gave us admittance. This monastery was inhabited solely by Bulgari- 
ans. They are apparently rich, as they are rebuilding the convent on 
so grand a scale that the cost of the church alone is estimated at fifty 
thousand piastres. The arches of the new colonnade are all of dif- 
ferent diameters and heights ; and the capitals of the columns more 
clumsy and shapeless than those of the darkest ages of the lower em- 
pire. The ritual of the Bulgarian service is exactly comformable to 
that of the Greek church, though the language of their liturgy and of 
their canonical books is ancient Bulgaric or Illyric ; but as their only 
printing-press is at St. Petersburgh, a number of Russian letters and 
words have crept in, and their printed books have become very cor- 

F F 



218 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



rupt. Those who now aspire to literary attainments among them 
learn ancient Greek, esteeming their mother tongue not worthy of 
cultivation ; and they assured me that all the Servic manuscripts in 
Mount Athos were translations from the Greek fathers. 

From Zografou we proceeded to the last great convent of Mount 
Athos, called Chiliantari, containing about one hundred and eighty 
monks. This also is inhabited by Bulgarians ; and its manuscripts 
are all in the Servic dialect except a few liturgies in Greek. The 
present Abbot is Gerasimos, nearly eighty years old, sixty-eight of 
which he has passed in the monastery. From him I obtained much 
information concerning the state of the religious community of 
Athos. He professed to know little of the early history of the 
convents ; but seemed to think that many of them laid claim to a 
higher antiquity than they ought, when they referred to Constantine 
the Great, Arcadius and Honorius, and other early Emperors as 
their founders ; for no records in any of the monasteries are of a 
date prior to Nicephorus Phocas, who reigned in the year 961. When 
the crafty caloyers adverted to the progress of the Turkish arms 
under the Sultan Orchan and his immediate successors, and con- 
jectured what might soon be the fate of Constantinople itself, they 
sent a deputation to the Sultan at Brusa in Asia Minor, carrying a 
present of fourteen thousand sequins, and begging that when his 
victorious arms had taken possession of the seat of the Greek 
empire, the caloyers might be left in the full enjoyment of their 
religious privileges, and in the exclusive possession of Mount Athos. 
The Turk accepted the bribe, promised all they wished, and gave 
them a charter, which is said to be still preserved among the 
archives at Chariess, the metropolis of the peninsula. The Turkish 
Sultans, however, have since made this faithless body pay dearly for 
their treachery to their own Christian monarch, by throwing so large 
a sum of money into the hands of the enemy of their religion and 
their country at so critical a moment ; and instead of being for ever 
exempted from tribute as they had expected, they now pay annually 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



219 



one hundred and thirteen thousand piastres to the Porte, besides 
occasional contributions in time of war and other demands, one of 
which in the preceding month amounted to forty-eight purses, or 
twenty-four thousand piastres. In consequence of these perpetual 
extortions, the convents have been obliged to borrow large sums, 
for which they give from four to eight per cent., according to the 
exigency of the moment, or the piety of the lender. The general 
debt is supposed to amount to a million of piastres, or nearly eighty 
thousand pounds sterling. Father Gerasimos said that some of the 
monasteries were unable to raise even the interest of their borrowed 
money, and that the whole community must soon become bankrupt. 

Of the population of this peninsula we heard various accounts. 
It pays charatch or capitation-tax for three thousand, but the actual 
number of resident caloyers, including the labourers, workmen, 
hermits, is calculated at six thousand. Each convent pays for a 
certain proportion of the former number, according to an old 
schedule ; so that Batopaidi, Laura, Chiliantari, and other flourishing 
convents pay for fewer numbers than they actually have, while 
others, which have fallen into decay, pay for more than they 
contain. The temporal affairs of the Holy mountain are thus 
managed : The twenty monasteries are divided into four classes of 
five each, according to their respective sizes, and one convent of 
each class by rotation annually sends a deputy to Chariess. This 
council of four deputies settles all the business of the peninsula, 
and regulates the proportion of money which each convent is to 
give on extraordinary contributions. Their office is. annual; they 
live with no external pomp, and they receive but a trifling salary for 
their trouble. 

The vineyards, corn-fields, and gardens of Chiliantari, as well as 
the buildings are kept in such excellent condition, as to evince the 
superintendance of an able abbot. The walks around it are very 
beautiful ; and in them Mr. Carlyle and myself frequently wandered, 
listening to the songs of the nightingales, almost regretting that the 

f f 2 



220 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



tour of the peninsula was so nearly finished. * During our stay at 
Chiliantari, we made an excursion to the convent of Sphigmenou, 
about three miles off, containing thirty caloyers. Its manuscripts 
are all theological, among them are about twenty copies of the 
sacred writings of the New Testament. We returned to Chiliantari 
by a road that took us to another monastery called St. Basil ; which 
had been long in ruins, but is now inhabited by six poor caloyers. Its 
proximity to the sea would at all times render it an easy prey to 
pirates, but its present poverty and misery are such as to invite 
neither pilgrims to enrich it nor banditti to plunder it. It is not 
classed among the twenty monasteries which compose the religious 
republic of Mount Athos. 

We had now made a complete investigation of all the libraries 
in the monasteries of this peninsula, and taken catalogues of all the 
manuscripts they contain ; each of which we had ourselves indi- 
vidually examined. The state in which we found these tattered and 
mouldy volumes, [cum blattis ei tineis pugnantes,) often without 
beginnings or endings, rendered the task very tedious ; and our 
patience was put to a very severe trial by not once discovering an 
unedited fragment of any classical author. But the reflection that 
we were employed on an object which had long been a desideratum in 
the theological and literary world, enabled us to struggle against the 
difficulties we met, and to overcome the prejudices, the jealousy, 
and the ignorance which often tempted the librarians of the different 
convents to thwart our views ; and we endeavoured to complete our 
work as accurately as our means and abilities would admit. 

When the learned Greeks fled from Constantinople in 1453, they 
took with them to western Europe their most valuable manuscripts ; 
those which they left, were probably secreted in the monasteries. 
The libraries, in the islands of the sea of Marmora, and of Mount 



* See a beautiful passage of Nicephorus, where he is speaking of the trees, the 
groves, the herbs, and scenery of Athos. (L. 14. 449.) 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



221 



Athos ; of the Patriarch at Constantinople, and of St. Saba near Jeru- 
salem, were carefully examined by Mr. Carlyle or myself : — - 

" The convent of St. John at Patmos has been visited by French 
and English travellers ; the manuscript of Diodorus Siculus in the li- 
brary of this place appears to be only an imperfect transcript of the 
original, une partie de Diodore ecrite d'une main assez recente.* The 
copy of the dialogues of Plato which has been brought to England 
was seen by Villoison ; but that learned Hellenist appears to have 
inspected it hastily, as he makes no mention of the marginal 
Scholia in it. (See Gaisford's Catalog. MSS., Clarke.) The mo- 
nasteries of Meteora were visited by Biornstahl and Mr. Hawkins, 
and other travellers. Fourmont examined the convent of the mira- 
culous image of the Virgin, called Megaspilason, six miles from Cala- 
vrita j- in the Morea ; he there saw only a few copies of the Greek 
fathers, and some other ecclesiastical volumes. (See Not. des MSS. 
du Roi. T. 8.)"—^. 

^¥hen we were setting out on our excursion to Athos, the drago- 
men of the English and other embassies at the Porte spoke much of 
the vices and gross ignorance of the Greek caloyers. This represent- 
ation was very incorrect ; their contempt arose more from sectarian 
animosity than any other cause. The dragomen or interpreters at Pera 
are generally Romanists, or as the Greeks call them, Latin Schisma- 
tics. Defects there certainly are in this religious republic : but even 
in its present oppressed and degraded state the establishment is a 
useful one. It contributes to preserve the language of Greece from 
being corrupted or superseded by that of its conquerors ; it checks or 
rather entirely prevents the defection of Christians to Mahometanism, 
not only in European, but Asiatic Turkey ; almost all the Greek Di- 



* Villoison, see the " Notice des MSS. du Roi," T. 8. Villoison also observed there 
the Anthology of Lascaris, in Uteris majusculis. 

f Calavrita is supposed by some to be the ancient Nonacris. A learned Danish tra- 
veller, M. Brondstedt visited the Styx, in the vicinity of this place, and learned that it 
was called Mavro Nero, " black water." 



222 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



dascaloi school-masters, and the higher orders of their clergy are 
selected from this place. If it sometimes hides a culprit who has fled 
from public justice, yet that criminal most probably reforms his 
life in a residence so well calculated to bring his mind to reflection. 
The oath of a person who becomes caloyer on Mount Athos is 
very solemn and simple ; it implies an absolute renunciation of the 
world, enjoining the person who makes it to consider himself as quite 
dead to its concerns. Some are so conscientiously observant of this 
vow, that they never afterwards use their family name, never corres- 
pond with any of their relatives or former friends, and decline in- 
forming strangers from what country or situation of life they have 
retired. 

By the rules of the institution, every convent on Mount Athos, 
and indeed throughout the whole Turkish Empire is ordered to show 
hospitality to strangers who present themselves at their gate, whether 
they be Greeks, heretics or infidels ; nor are they permitted to ask 
for payment from any pilgrim or other visitor for the provisions 
which they may give them. The reception we in general had 
experienced was polite, and apparently disinterested. In convers- 
ation with their prelates and some of the well-educated caloyers, I 
so often found what I judged to be religious moderation, that I was 
once induced to show them a Greek version of the English Liturgy ; 
but when they saw that we kept Easter at the time affixed by the 
Gregorian or Romish calendar, that we laid down no precise rules 
about the mode of fasting, that our creed asserts the procession of 
the Holy Ghost from the Father and the Son, I saw such a disposi- 
tion for controversy arise, that I ever afterwards abstained from all 
allusion to similar subjects. They admit the propriety of allowing the 
parochial clergy to marry ; but a priest who has been married is never 
advanced to any of the dignities of the Greek Church. The Pa- 
triarchs and bishops must be i'epc; |noW^o< or celibataries. They ob- 
serve a number of ceremonies in their public worship. At day- 
break on the morning of Easter-day, they perform a sort of dramatic 



MOUNT ATHOS. 223 

representation of the Resurrection. When the bishop gives the 
blessing, he holds two lighted tapers crossed in one hand to signify 
the two-fold nature of Christ, and three tapers in the other as a 
symbol of the Trinity ; he makes the sign of the cross, and he 
sprinkles holy water with three fingers in a particular form, in 
allusion to the same mystery ; or can this be an adaptation of an 
ancient Pagan superstition mentioned by Ovid, Et digitis tria thura 
tribas sub limine ponit? They burn incense, and waft it towards the 
pictures of the Virgin Yluvxyioc *, of Christ ^vtoKpirm^ and of the 
patron saint, and kiss them with profound adoration. The clergy 
suffer their beard and hair to grow to great length, in imitation, as 
they assert, of Christ and his Apostles. They perform the ceremony 
of exorcism for epilepsy, and some other diseases, supposed to be the 
effect of daemoniacal possession. Many more superstitious practices 
might be mentioned. On taking leave of Father Gerasimos of Chili- 
antari, we congratulated him on the peace and tranquillity which 
his little religious commonwealth enjoyed in the midst of the wars and 
revolutions of Europe ; but he replied, that on the contrary, they 
were in a state of perpetual conflict with three most powerful ene- 
mies, the devil, their own lusts, and the travelling caloyers, who em- 
bezzle the alms by which the convents should be supported ; and 
that these would soon produce the ruin of their community, which 



* " The Greeks of all Christians in the world seem to me ^tAofleoxoxeuTaTot the most 
zealous adorers of the mother of God. The Latins in this matter are extravagant 
enough, but truly the Greeks far outdo them. In many instances which I could give, 
they ascribe unto her almost as great a providence as to God himself. Taking my leave 
in the monasteries at Mount Athos, their last farewell to me was commonly this, N« <r«j 
4>uX«yw Ssof Huvxylx, ' May God keep you and the all-holy Lady.' Infinitely more 
prayers are made particularly to her than to Christ; and that not only in their private 
devotions, but in their Euchologion or Common Prayer-book itself, and in the offices 
appointed for her worship. On the walls of many of their cities is this inscription : 
©soTo'xe TTupQevs /3o>j'Sei tuvtv, rn noXsi, ( Virgin, mother of God, help this city;' and you will 
find not only in temples, but every where in private families that are of any note, and in 
public passages, especially at Mount Athos, lamps continually burning before her picture 
far oftener than before Christ himself, or any one of the saints." — Covel's Greek Church, 
p. 376. 



224 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



had long been in decay. He accompanied us to the gate, and 
shaking us affectionately by the hand, said, he hoped he had left 
such an impression of himself on our hearts, that we might be mutu- 
ally glad to see each other, if Providence ever brought us again to- 
gether ; quoting a Turkish proverb, that mountain never approaches 
mountain, nor island, island ; but that man often unexpectedly meets 
fellow-man. 

We had an escort assigned us of six well-armed Albanians; our 
road conducted us through the most picturesque and magnificent 
scenery ; but in some places so dangerous from the precipices which 
beetle over the sea, that a false step of our mules might have been 
fatal. Six miles from Chiliantari we came to the ruins of a castle 
called Callitze ; and two miles further we halted to breakfast under 
the shade of some Oriental planes near a fountain, and the bed of a 
river filled with scarlet oleanders and Agnus castus. The spot is cal- 
led Paparnitza ; here we saw once more cows and ewes with their 
young, a proof that we had passed the holy precincts. W e continued 
our journey towards the Isthmus, and on reaching the shore found a 
large fishing boat, which supplied us plentifully with fish at fifteen 
paras an oke, and some octopodia. * 

We soon came to the spot on the Isthmus, now called f Problakas, 
where Xerxes is said to have cut a canal for his fleet of galleys. 
This is about a mile and a quarter long, and twenty-five yards across; 
a measurement not very different from that given by $ Herodotus 



* This is the sea polypus, which we often observe beaten by the Greeks to make it 
tender. Forskal says, ' carnem bene tusam edunt," and an older authority makes 
mention of this practice Tlo^vnovg tvhtbtoh n-oAAaxij 7rpo$ to itsttmv yeveadcti. Suidas, — E. 

f " Isthmus iste a Graecis monachis montis incolis vpouuKa.^ hoc seculo appcllatur," 
says Vossius in Mclam, 139. It is the same word according to the Romaic pronunciation, 
as that given by Dr. Hunt. 

% The length has been also stated as eirrena-TaZtog (Obs. Voss. ad Mel. App. 40.) 
Vestiges of the canal were visible in the time of j£lian, 1. xiii. c. 20. Belon thought the 
ancient account of it fabulous, in opposition to Thucydides, 1. iv., who speaks of the 
King's canal; and Pococke did not observe the remains of it. Mr. Mitford (H. of 
Greece, i. 377-) observes, that scarcely any circumstance of the expedition of Xerxes is 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



225 



of twelve stadia. We found that it had been much filled up with 
mud and rushes, but is traceable in its whole extent ; having its 
bottom in many places very little above the level of the sea ; in some 
parts of it corn is sown, in others there are ponds of water. We 
saw some ruins at that end of the canal which opens into the Gulf 
of Athos, but our guides fearing that pirates might be lurking there, 
prevented us from visiting the spot, where Uranopolis is supposed to 
have stood. Here we saw a number of women in the fields weeding 
the corn and singing ; the sight of female dresses, and the voices of 
these sun-burnt daughters of labour were most pleasing after having 
lived so long among the monks of Athos. At half past three in 
the afternoon we reached Erissos, the ancient Acanthus, about thirty 
miles from the convent of Chiliantari. The inhabitants are all 
Greeks, except the Aga, and they would even be spared the presence 
of this Turkish mayor or chief constable, if they would shew proper 
deference to their own Protogeros or Codja-Bashee, whose sentences 
would be disregarded unless enforced by the authority of a Musulman 
officer appointed by the Porte. The country around appeared re- 
markably well cultivated, and the sea view is beautiful. Maize and 
rye are the principal crops, and all the agricultural labour except 
holding the plough is performed by women ; they are Albanian 
colonists, and very hardy and industrious. Their dress resembles 
that of the women in the Highlands of Scotland, except as to the 
ornament of the head-dress ; the hair being braided, and the crown 
of the head covered with a little cap of scarlet cloth, on which is 
sewed a quantity of small coins, presenting the appearance of scales 
of fish. Their petticoats are short, and they wear neither Turkish 
pantaloons, nor shoes, nor stockings. A square piece of cloth is 
fastened behind the shoulders of those who are mothers ; and in this 



more strongly supported by historical testimony, than the making of this canal; and 
Dr. Hunt's remarks are a valuable corroboration of the ancient accounts. The reference 
to Belon, whose authority on the occasion is worth little, should be omitted in the next 
edition of Mr. Mitford's excellent history.— E. 

G G 



226 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



they carry a young child with such apparent ease, that they do not 
relieve themselves from the burden when at the work in the fields : 
in going from place to place they not only carry their infants in this 
manner, .but have often a lofty jar or pitcher on their heads, and a 
rock and spindle in their hands, with which they spin as they walk. 
The shepherds, ploughmen, and indeed every peasant without 
exception had a long musket slung at his back; a pistol, and yataghan 
or Turkish sword in his belt. 

The price of wheat here was five piastres and a half, the kiloe, or 
about eight shillings a bushel ; wine three paras an oke, a measure 
of two pounds and a half; a lamb weighing two okes and a quarter, 
cost four piastres or six shillings ; two eggs were sold for a para, 
(halfpenny,) a fowl for twelve. Labourers in the vineyards have 
twenty paras (ten-pence) a day, in addition to meat and drink ; 
common labourers fifteen paras (seven-pence halfpenny) and food. 
Mules for riding cost from one hundred and fifty to two hundred 
piastres each ; an ox for ploughing is worth sixty piastres, a horse 
for carrying burdens, sells for from fifty to sixty-five piastres. Before 
we left this village we had a visit of ceremony from a bride, nJ//^, 
whose friends told us they hailed our arrival as a good omen for the 
happiness of the married pair. The bride was not so much veiled 
as to conceal her face from us; on receiving a present she 
took our hands to her mouth, kissed them, and then bowing, retired 
in silence, having during the whole ceremony not uttered a syllable. 
This silence we were told, was continued for eight days from her 
wedding; during which period she is accompanied by her bride- 
maids and husband's relations from house to house, and receives 
from each male inhabitant a few paras or piastres according to the 
wealth of the party. Small pieces of coin were strung to the braids 
of her hair, which hung down her back and over her shoulders, 
nearly reaching the ground; the skull-cap was covered with larger 
coins ; among these were many ancient medals which we in vain 
attempted to purchase at a high offer. We were told that the cap 
she wore was considered as a family treasure, and that it descended 



MOUNT ATHOS 227 

as an heir-loom, receiving occasional additions ; but was never 
suffered to lose any of its former ornaments. 

The charatch, or capitation tax, is levied at six piastres for each 
grown person. The Pasha of the district collects a tribute or land 
tax in addition, of one part out of seven and a half of every crop from 
Christians, whether Greeks or Albanians; and one in six from every 
Musulman. Besides these taxes each vineyard pays the Pasha two 
piastres for every two hundred okes of wine at the annual vintage; 
and if exported, though even to an adjoining island or port of their 
own country, it pays a custom-house duty of two paras an oke. 

April 21. — At ten minutes past seven we proceeded on our road 
to Nisvoro, and crossed a rich and well-cultivated plain ; at half-past 
nine we halted for an hour to refresh our mules. The spot was 
shaded by Oriental plane-trees, and near it were ruins of an old 
tower, which our guide called Arsinoitche, a name it has probably 
preserved ever since the time of the immediate successors of Alexan- 
der, as Arsinoe, daughter of Ptolemy Lagus, married Lysimachus. 
The rest of our journey was along the course of a river, the waters of 
which were very shallow, and so strongly impregnated with some 
mineral solution as to be of a red colour ; near its banks are frequent 
heaps of burnt ore. Here we met a band of Albanian pilgrims pro- 
ceeding to the holy mountain ; they were about sixty in number, well 
mounted and armed. Before we reached Nisvoro we observed a de- 
faced inscription in the walls of a Greek church. On entering the 
town we immediately waited on the Bishop, whom we found to be 
a young man of talents and learning. In the evening we walked to 
the silver mines, and observed that the range of hills has been worked 
very extensively during a long period. Our guide told us that the 
ground was hollow for many miles around us. We saw about a 
hundred workmen employed in breaking the lead ore, drawing it from 
the mines, and smelting it in a very slovenly manner. The principal 
mine is about fifty yards beneath the surface; we observed five or 
six furnaces, and the double bellows used by them are worked by 
water-wheels. On making some inquiries concerning the plan on 

g g 2 



228 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



which they proceed, the following is the result collected by us in a 
conversation carried on by means of our interpreter. 

A speculator who can raise a few thousand piastres, buys the right 
of digging a certain extent of ground for a year from the Porte, to 
whom the royalty belongs ; a band or gang of workmen join him in 
the undertaking. The original speculator then purchases machinery, 
erects furnaces, makes charcoal, and is at the whole expence of set- 
ting the gang at work. The produce of their labour is then divided ; 
all the lead is the property of the Sultan, a fifth part of which is 
granted to the Aga who collects the revenue of the Sultan. The lat- 
ter has also a monopoly of the silver, for which he previously stipu- 
lates to give eighty piastres per oke (not so much as three shillings 
an ounce) to the party who has obtained the licence to work the 
mine. The sum received for the silver is at the end of the year thus 
shared : one-seventh part to the person who advanced all the money ; 
and the remainder to the band of workmen according to a scale pre- 
viously settled. 

It appears, however, that the richest veins have been exhausted, 
and that the mines are now worked by almost compulsory means. 
The labourers told us, with tears in their eyes, that during the last 
two years their division had not amounted to more than two paras 
a-day, but that the Sultan insisted on the works being carried on. 
About four or five thousand okes of lead are now produced annually, 
and about fifty okes of silver reach the mint at Constantinople ; but 
we were told that one vein has been known to produce four hundred 
okes of silver in a year, and that ore has sometimes been found so 
rich as to give six drachms of silver out of an oke (four hundred 
drachms) of lead ; though the present average is only about two 
drachms and a half of silver to the oke of lead. 

April 22. — We left Nisvoro early in the morning, and at two miles 
from the town passed the residence of the- Aga, who is too distant 
from the mines to be able personally to detect any mal-practices that 
may be carried on there. At 6\ 40'. we reached a most beautiful 
plain, extending for many miles, covered with the richest verdure, 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



229 



and rendered picturesque by a number of spreading oak trees, stand- 
ing singly and in small groupes, like the scenery of an English park. 
The sides of the plain are sloping, clothed with hanging woods, and 
its further extremity shut in by lofty mountains, rising behind each 
other as far as the eye can reach. The oaks here are so well adapted 
for naval purposes, that they have been ordered to be sent to the 
dock-yards at Constantinople. Some have been felled, but as it will 
cost fifty piastres to bring each of them to the shore, a bribe will pro- 
bably be given to the government inspector for reporting them unfit 
for ship-building, and thus the people of the neighbourhood will 
escape this addition to their heavy imposts. 

At 7 h . 20'. A. M. we passed a village called Negeshalar, beautifully 
placed on the side of a woody hill ; and at 8 h . 35'. halted in the 
midst of a forest of oaks, many of which had been lately felled. 
Here our guides shewed a disposition to prolong their journey in a 
most tedious manner. After vainly attempting to persuade them to 
set off, we were forced to proceed on foot without them. In less than 
an hour we reached Laregovi, and with difficulty procured other 
muleteers, and hired a strong guard of Albanians to protect the party 
from robbers, who, they pretended, infested the neighbouring woods. 
The Codja Bashee of Laregovi has jurisdiction over eleven other towns, 
the largest of which contains six hundred and the smallest one hun- 
dred houses ; the police of all these is superintended by him, and he 
gathers the government taxes. This district belongs to one of the 
Sultanas at Constantinople, who leaves the local government entirely 
to native Greeks, merely sending one of her Bostangees or life-guards 
to enforce the orders of the Greek Codja Bashee, when his people are 
refractory. Arriving at the town of Gallitze, which contains six hun- 
dred houses, without one Musulman inhabitant, we found we could 
procure no lodging ; neither the Sultan's firman nor the Patriarch's 
recommendatory letter had any influence; one of our guards at length 
took us to an empty mud cottage, where we passed the night. At 
seven on the next morning we left Gallitze, and crossed an extensive 
plain, and at half-past nine reached the beautiful village of Basilika, 



230 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



containing about 150 houses. They are detached from each other, 
and have separate vineyards, gardens, or mulberry plantations, and 
the whole place breathes an air of wealth and comfort which we 
had not witnessed since landing at Athos. From the time of our 
quitting Lemnos we had seen no Turkish houses until we arrived at 
this place. At half-past ten we entered the immense plain, which 
extends as far as Salonica. We passed a Turkish burial-ground, 
where a number of broken granite and marble columns were scattered 
round us, and a few cippi containing defaced inscriptions, but evi- 
dently not of remote antiquity. Near this cemetery is a very large 
conical barrow or tumulus, and on other parts of the plain we ob- 
served similar constructions, some on circular, some on oval bases. 
Their shape is so regular as to leave no doubt of their being artifi- 
cial mounds ; and their rising abruptly from a plain as level as a lake, 
produces a striking effect on the eye. None of them appear to have 
been opened. 



ADDITIONAL REMARKS ON THE SEPULCHRES OF THE EUROPEAN AND 

ASIATIC GREEKS. 

Or THE EDITOR.] 

Many of a similar form may be seen in other parts of Greece ; they 
have been observed in Thessaly by Mr. Hawkins on the road from 
Volo to Larissa, and in the plain north of Pharsalia. He mentions 
some of great size at Philippopolis, and others on the borders of the 
Propontis, between Silivri and Constantinople. 

Adjoining to the straits of the Hellespont, and near Gallipoli, are 
many lofty tumuli, which were remarked by Belon. Of these Thra- 
cian barrows we may appropriate one to Lysimachus, for they are 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



231 



raised near Cardia and Pactyas, and between these two places, as 
Pausanias informs us, his tumulus was seen. (Lib. i. p. 19.) 

The most ancient form of tumuli is the simplest, namely, a heap of 
earth with a stele on the top, terreno ex aggere bustum. In parts of 
Western Scythia they are found encompassed with a square wall of 
large square stones. This defence or maceria was added to the se- 
pulchres of Greece and Asia in early times ; it surrounded that 
of Opheltes at Cleonae (Paus. lib. ii.) ; of Alyattes in Lydia 
(Herod, lib. i.) ; of Auge at Pergamus ; of iEpytus in Arcadia (Paus. 
viii.) ; of Phocus in iEgina. (Ib. lib. ii.) One with a circular wall 
near the ancient Pergamus has been described by Choiseul ; another 
has been opened within a few years near Smyrna, in which galleries 
and chambers have been found. 

The custom of raising temples, altars, statues, or shrines over tombs, 
attached, certainly, a greater degree of religious respect to the places 
where the dead were deposited. The prevalence of it is evident from 
that remarkable expression of Athenagoras, who calls the temples of 
the ancients Toc<pct, tombs. (Apol. c. xxv.) This name was after- 
wards retorted by Libanius, Julian, Eunapius, and other Pagans upon 
the Christians, when they began to practise the custom of burying the 
bones of martyrs in their churches. 

Although one class and form of sepulchre, the raised mound, were 
common both to Greece and Asia, yet there is a remarkable differ- 
ence in the manner adopted by the inhabitants of the two countries in 
constructing other monuments in honor of the dead. We see nothing 
in Greece to equal those great and numerous excavations in the rock, 
which strike the traveller's attention in Asia and Syria. They are 
seen at Telmessus, at Myra*, at Antiphellos, at Amasia, where are 
the supposed tombs of the Kings of Pontus, and in parts of Palestine. 
Some of them are mentioned by Pococke in Phrygia, Lycia, 



* Nunc eversae multa vestigia extant, praecipue monumenta mortuorum in vivo saxo 
cavata, quas columnis et aliis signis ex eodem saxo incisis atque insculptis, ornata sunt. — 
Coriol. Cepion. 



232 



MOUNT ATHOS. 



Cappadocia; others are pointed out by Le Brim, Choiseul, and 
Dr. Clarke. We may suppose that Gregory, who was born in Cap- 
padocia, and had in his journies through Asia remarked these and 
similar monuments, alludes to them when he speaks of the " stone 
tombs in the mountains, the work of giants." * 

That many of these great excavations in the rock were executed 
by the later inhabitants of Asia Minor, is evident from the in- 
scriptions which have been discovered. Some of these in Greek 
were copied by Dr. Clarke, and the travellers who were sent out by 
the Dilettanti Society with Sir William Gell. Others are composed of 
characters, the meaning of which has not yet been explained. These 
tombs in the rocks frequently present, as we learn from the plates, in 
the " Voyage Pittoresque" of Choiseul, in their outward forms, pedi- 
ments, Ionic pillars, and architectural ornaments resembling those 
used in Greek buildings. In Greece, the excavations in the rock 
for sepulchral purposes were generally simple ; and those at Athens, 
and even at Delphi, are inferior in extent and grandeur to the 
tombs in Asia. The inhabitants of this country, from greater wealth 
and pride, and a love of magnificence which particularly distinguished 
them, were induced to form and raise monuments of a more sump- 
tuous and laborious execution. The sarcophagi seen in Asia Minor 
are more numerous and of larger dimensions than those in Greece j 
Dr. Hunt has particularly remarked the appearance of the granite 
Soroi of Assos. Perhaps the most costly tomb ever raised in 
Greece f was that made by order of Harpalus for Pythionice ; thirty 
talents were expended on it. Dio. Sic. xvii. 245. 



* SrijXat, xa» -rrkuxoevTe; ev oopeciv, spy a. yiyavrwv, Tvpfioi. — Anec. Graeca. Muratori. 
f Mr. Fiott examined the Macedonian sepulchres at Vodena ; but they do not appear 
to be distinguished by any remarkable size or form. Clarke's Travels, vol. iii. 341. 



( 233 ) 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



NOTICE RESPECTING THE JOURNALS OF THE LATE DR. SIBTHORP. 

A residence in parts of Greece and Asia Minor during a period 
of three or four years would enable a learned and intelligent naturalist 
to furnish some valuable illustrations of various passages in the works 
of Aristotle, Theophrastus, Dioscorides, iElian, and Pliny. The 
names of many birds, as well as fishes, which occur in the writings 
of the Greeks are difficult to be interpreted. Of the twenty-four 
persons who form the chorus in the comedy of the Aves, says 
Mr. Gray, and enter under the form of so many birds, there are ten, 
of which we can give no explanation in English. 

We have already alluded to the great collection of materials for a 
Fauna and Flora Graeca procured by Dr. Sibthorp and Mr. Hawkins 
during their travels in the Levant. In the extracts from Dr. S.'s 
journals, the reader will find many remarks on the medicinal and 
ceconomical uses of the Greek plants ; the names also given to them 
by the modern inhabitants are annexed ; and much new information 
is added concerning the birds, the animals of Greece, and the 
fishes of the Archipelago. The botany of the ancients, Beckmann 
observes, would be more easily explained if the names used by the 
modern Greeks were known ; a similar remark may be applied to the 
ornithology and ichthyology of Greece*, and to the animals of that 
country. Dr. Sibthorp has noted down many of the modern appella- 
tions, but the reader will find in some instances the names of the 
present day very different from the ancient terms. Tv(p\c7rovTixog has 



* The accentuation and mode of writing the Romaic names of the plants and animals 
of Greece in Dr. S.'s journals are not always correct. The editor has printed them as 
accurately as he could : but sometimes words occur, concerning which further information 
is wanting. 

H H 



234 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



taken the place of 'Ac-7raAa£ the former name of the mole, and the 
hedge-hog is no longer called \yjvoq, but <r%u.vTLpxo^oq. 

We have mentioned that in his various researches, Dr. Sibthorp ' 
did not omit collecting information respecting the fishes of the Greek 
seas ; and his list of them is more complete than any that has been 
hitherto published. Among the lost works of the ancients, we may 
regret the want of those, which expressly treated of the fishes of the 
rivers and seas of Greece, as they would have illustrated in some 
degree an interesting part of the natural history of that country. 
The Greeks were of all people ofyoQuyitnoiToi* ; the snipe, the wood- 
cock, the partridge held a secondary place at their tables. Ce me- 
prisement, says Belon, de manger chair, et estimer le poisson, a fait 
que les anciens Grecs et Latins, ayent moins cogneu les oiseaux, que 
les poissons. The names of some writers, who in parts of their works 
had examined the various sorts of fishes which frequent the rivers 
and shores of Greece have been preserved to us ; among these we 
find Epicharmus the Sicilian, a poet and naturalist ; Ananius a con- 
temporary of Hipponax, who had in his verses introduced some 
remarks on OipoTz-o/fa; Mithaecus mentioned in the Gorgias of Plato, 
and Archestratus, a writer who flourished nearly at the same time with 
Aristotle, and from whom the latter had probably borrowed some 
of those remarks respecting fishes, which are to be found in his 
great work, f Of the numerous treatises on natural history written 
by Aristotle, a small part only has reached us. Athenseus quotes 
one entitled Trsp* Zn»y 9 y nttpi lyjuw.% Schw. ad. Ath. vii. 15. 

From the Venetians, French, and Italians who have been settled 
at various times in parts of Greece, and the islands of the Archipelago, 



* Qui Graece sciunt nunquam mirabuntur otyov pro pisce dici. Quare hodieque in 
Grsecia piscis vocatur ^«gt, voce ex dtyapiov depravata. See Yvonis Villiomari in locos 
controversos Roberti Titii. 8V. (A work written by Joseph Scaliger.) 

f See Schneider in Aris. H. A. Epimetrum, 1. 

t The description of the Bustard from Aristotle, (in Athen. lib. 9.) is in no part of the 
extant writings of the philosopher ; and in another book (lib. 70 Athenaeus refers to a 
passage of Aristotle, respecting the fleshy palate of the carp ; this is not now to be found 
in his works. — Sec Beckmann's History of the Invent. 3. 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



235 



the modern inhabitants have derived a few names of fishes as well as 
birds. In some instances, the ancient words slightly altered have 
been retained, even by the Turks ; the xe^aXo? is still called Cephal- 
balluk* by them, and Scorpit-balluk is the name which they give to 
the Scorpaena Porcus. » 



PLANTS OF GREECE. 

MEDICINAL AND ECONOMICAL USES. 
iFROM DR. SIBTHORP'S PAPERS.'} 

1. Pinus Maritima. llevKoc, one of the most useful trees in Greece ; 
it furnishes a resin (^t/^), tar and pitch (TriWa), all of considerable 
importance for ceconomical purposes. Throughout Attica the f wine 
is preserved from becoming acid by the means of the resin which is 
employed in the proportion of an oke and a half, to 20 okes of 
wine. The tar and pitch for ship building are taken from this tree, 
and the ritW, the Pinus Pinea. The resinous parts of the wood of 
the Uiuxoq are cut into small pieces and serve for candles, called 
Acchot. The cones, kovvoi, are sometimes put into the wine barrels. 

Notes by the Editor. 

1. Aufact, a corruption of the ancient word 8«8ej, see Lucian de M. Pereg. Ligna 
arboris picis, d'Orville Char. ii. 489. We find in Dr. Hunt's journal the same word 
§a§ia, applied .by the inhabitants of Mount Ida to the torches of pine-wood. 



* Balluk in Turkish signifies Jish. 

f A practice very general throughout Greece, but which is very prevalent at Athens, 
may perhaps in some degree account for the connection of the fircone (surmounting the 
Thyrsus) with the worship of Bacchus. Incisions are made in the fir-trees for the purpose 
of obtaining the turpentine which distils copiously from the wound. This juice is mixed 
with the new wine in large quantities: the Greeks supposing that it would be impossible to 
keep it any length of time without this mixture. The wine has in consequence a very 
peculiar taste, but is by no means unpleasant after a little use. This, as we learn from 
Plutarch, was an ancient custom (Sympos. Quest. 3. and 4. p. 528. Ed. Wytten.); the 
Athenians, therefore, might naturally have placed the fircone in the hands of Bacchus. — 
(From Lord Aberdeen's Journals.) 

H H 2 



236 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



The bark is used in tanning hides. The wood is much employed by 
the carpenters in building. 

I observed, says Mr. Hawkins, on Cyllene, Taygetus, and the 
mountains of Thasos, a sort of fir, which, although called Trtvxo? by 
the inhabitants, and much resembling the Ttimog of the lower regions, 
differed from it in these particulars ; the foliage was much darker, 
and the growth of the tree much more regular and straight. The 
very elevated regions on which it grew leads me to suspect it must 
be different from the common irlvKog. 

2. " Pinus Pinea, KovKowupta, trlrvg of the ancients. This tree and the 
P. Maritima afford timber for the construction of ships, the ribs, 
keel, and beams being made of the Kermes oak, and the Ilex. These 
two firs grow generally, and certainly best in sandy soils ; the Pinus 
Maritima, or true wsuxog of the neo-Greeks, abounds in Attica, where 
the soil is either rocky or loamy ; but never here attains the same 
bulk, as it does in the forests of Elis, where trees may be seen fit for 
the largest ships of war, and where the soil is every where sandy. The 
timber of these two sorts of fir is much harder and tougher than 
that of our northern firs, and consequently more lasting. The seeds 
of the stone pine are collected still with great industry in Elis, and 
form an object of exportation to Zante and Cephallonia, and other 
places." From Mr. Hawkins. 

3. Quercus iEgilops, Aptfc, Kouirdxi. The prickly cups of the fruit 
of this tree are of importance in the tanning of leather, as an 
astringent, and for the purposes of dyeing. They must be gathered 

Notes by the Editor. 

2. The virus and ireuxrj are both mentioned by Plutarch, Symp. lib. v. 3. 2. as proper 
for ship building. The Pinus Pinea is still used for that purpose at Sinope and in other 
parts of the Turkish empire. The tree is common in the maritime districts of Asia 
Minor and Syria. u The -irhus" says Coray, " is now called xoxxwvxpia, from the fruit 
xoxxuvxpwv, anciently called (TTpo'/3iAov ;" xoxxwvr) also was an ancient name. The kernels 
of the stone pine are brought to table in Turkey; they are very common in the kitchens 
of Aleppo." — Russell. 

3. The luylho><\> of Theophrastus, Hist. iii. 0. Sprengel. ** The small Velani," says 
Tournefort, Lett. viii. " are the young fruit gathered off the tree, more valued than those 
full ripe, that fall of themselves." 



PLANTS OF GREECE. 237 

before the acorn is ripe, in the month of August. A quantity of this 
oak is planted in the plain of Eleusis, and the Valanida is sold to the 
tanners of Athens for two paras the oke. The wood of the KovvaKt 
is esteemed in ship-building and in house work, and makes good 
charcoal. 

4. Quercus Ilex, "Apeoc. This tree does not grow in great abund- 
ance in Attica. It may be observed on the higher parts of Pendeli, 
near the ancient marble quarries. The wood is preferred for the share 
of the plough, and for making the tyes in , the walls of the Greek 
houses. 

5. Quercus Coccifera, nfivuy. The bark of the root is used by 
the tanners, particularly for tanning hides for the soles of shoes. It 
is powdered and mixed in equal quantity with the Valanida and the 
bark of the Pine. Small quantities of the grain used for dyeing 
scarlet are collected from this plant near Casha in Attica ; but in the 
Morea, the collecting of it forms a considerable object of commerce. 
The wood being hard and durable is employed for the handles of 
mattocks, and for other agricultural instruments. 

The plant, says Mr. Hawkins, is found stunted in its growth by 
the constant nibbling of the goats, of which it is the favorite food. 
It occasionally, however, attains the size of a small tree, and is then 
very fit either for timber or charcoal. 

Notes by the Editor. 

4. The dpvg of Homer, according to Sprengel, and Kp~tvo; of Theophr. Hist. iii. 16. 

5. It is the Trplvoc, >j tov <potvixovv xoxxov tpepzi of Theophrastus, Hist. iii. 8. and koxxq; 
|3apixjj of Diosc. iv. 48. The kermes are still collected in Crete and Cyprus ; in the latter 
island the name irfivog is retained, according to Dr. Sibthorp. The grains were found in 
the time of Pausanias in Phocis and in various parts of Asia Minor (Plin. et Dioscor.) 
The colour expressed from them is the Galaticus rubor of Tertullian, de Pallio, p. 38. 

The coccus is mentioned by Moses under the name Phceni Tola ; the Phoenicians, ac- 
cording to Prof. Tychsen, having brought them into Palestine from Syria. The Egyp- 
tians also were acquainted with the dye. See Beckmann. vol. ii. 

Mr. Hawkins says the wood of the Q. C. is used for charcoal. We may add from the 
Schol. on the Achar. of Aristoph. >)&s irplvog Inirrfiuov i-v\ov sic otv8pctx.a.c. Athens is still 
supplied with charcoal from that part of the country where Acharnae may be supposed to 
have been situated; 'A^apvixoi wpivivbf. Ach. 178. 



238 NATURAL HISTORY. 

6. Arbutus Unedo, Kopocpta, abounds on the mountains of Pendeli, 
its fruit pctfAouKvXoi is eaten and esteemed a delicacy. The bees 
feeding on the flowers are said to communicate a bitter taste to the 
honey. The flutes of the Greek shepherds called <pAoup»a are made of 
this wood. It is used by the turners, and is hard, though less 
durable than oak. In Zante a spirit is drawn from it, and a vinegar 
of a bright gold colour. 

7. Arbutus Andrachne, uyptoxopapict, grows in equal abundance with 
the A. Unedo on the mountains of Pendeli and Parnes. Its fruit 
ripens in the months of October and November, but is not eaten. 

8. Erica Multiflora, '?Birrrj, flowers in winter, and during that 
season furnishes the principal food of the bee. The honey, however, 
which they make from its flowers is little esteemed, and sells at half 
the price of that made during the summer season from the wild 
Thyme. It abounds on Pendeli and Parnes. 

9. Rhus Cotinus, ^pu<rc|i/Aoi/. The dye of this wood is a beautiful 
orange-yellow. It is used to give this colour to the yarn by the 
Greeks and Albanians. It is brought from Pendeli and the mountains 
of Attica, and is sold to the dyers at Athens at two paras the oke. 
In Cyprus the Rhus Coriaria retains its ancient name Povg. The 
powdered fruit called by the Turks, Sumach, is sprinkled upon the 
meat as seasoning. 

10. Laurus Nobilis, Aufivv], the most aromatic of the Greek 
shrubs grows wild about Pendeli. An oil is expressed from the 
berries, which is used to anoint the hair. It is used as a medicine 
externally in bruises and rheumatisms. 

Notes by the Editor. 
6. xovpotpecc in Du C. the x.6fj.upo$ of Theoph. Hist. i. 15. 

7- A>Sp«^v>j, Theoph. Hist. i. 15. a.vlpuy(Xi in Cyprus, Sibthorp. It suffers more from 
the cold (Oliver remarks), than the Ar. Unedo; it is found near the Hellespont, in the 
Archipelago, and in Syria. 

9. This use of the Sumach at meals, is mentioned by the ancient writers ; Poiif 6 «rl t« 
ovj/a. Diosc. i. c. 147- The poet Antiphanes speaks of rhus and honey, among the 
ipTvjxuTa. of the table. Athcn. Schw. Lib. ii. p. 262. 



PLANTS OF GREECE. 



239 



11. Nerium Oleander, -n-izpoSapri; a very general plant through 
Greece; it marks the torrent bed, and fringes the banks of the 
Ilissus. The flowers are used as an ornament, and cover the bazar 
at Athens. The leaves boiled, or the dried leaves powdered are 
employed as remedies for the itch; boiled in oil, they serve as a 
liniment for rheumatic pains. The lattice windows (Jalousies) in 
the Turkish houses are made of slips of this wood. In Cyprus it 
retains its ancient name pocio<5W<p^ ; and the Cypriotes adorn their 
churches with the flowers on feast days. 

12. Salix Babylonica, 'irea. This tree is not common, and perhaps 
was originally introduced into Attica. I observed it near the 
monastery of Pendeli. The wood is made into charcoal for gun- 
powder, and the t wigs into baskets. 

13. Pistachia Lentiscus, c-xjvoq. This wood is much esteemed for 
fuel. The mastic or gum is only collected in Scio. The ashes of the 
wood are used by the Athenian soap-boilers for making the lye for the 
manufacture of soap. In Zante it is also considered as furnishing 
the best lixivium. The tanners employ it with Valanida in the 
preparation of leather. In Ithaca an oil is expressed [a-x^oxdh) 
from the berry. 

14. Vitex Agnus Castus, KavmsriTTa, the constant companion of the 
Oleander grows by the Ilissus, and on the torrent side. The twigs 
are very pliable, baskets and bee-hives are made of them. The leaves 
are also used by the dyers to produce a yellow colour, and with 
indigo, green. In Zante, hoops are made of the wood of this plant ; 
it is there called Xvysix ; it bears also the same name in Cyprus as 

well as ciyveia. ; in Patmos it is called Xvyapia. 

Notes by the Editor. 

1 1. Nrj'piov of Diosc. iv. 82. the Rosa laurea of Apuleius. Sprengel. 

13. The (r^lvo; of Theoph. Hist. ix. 1. The ancient word o-^jvi'^oju-ai signifies to eat 
mastich in order to clean and make white the teeth. The substance is now much used by 
the women of Turkey for the same purpose. We find from Dioscorides, lib. i. c. 90. that 
it was employed in preparations for the teeth. 

14. Coray remarks, that the Xvyivoi o-Tsfotvoi, of which the ancients speak, are still used 
bv the Greeks. " It is reported," says Gerarde, " that if such as journey or travel do 



240 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



15. Salvia Arborea, Ixeo-Qocxicc. This beautiful sage I first met with 
on Anchesmus, afterwards on Pendeli. The wood of the stem is 
used in making charcoal for the manufacture of gunpowder at 
Athens. 

16. Hedera Helix, xiaro-og • this tree hangs as a curtain in the 
picturesque scenery of the marble caves of Pendeli. The leaves are 
used for issues. 

17. Juniperus Oxycedrus, wfyo$ 9 grows on Pendeli and Parties, 
but is not very frequent in Greece. 

18. Cercis Siliquastrum, Ko-£cujcrtWp<; this beautiful shrub grows 
near the monastery of Pendeli, and in the forests of Sarando 
Potamo. 

19. Anthyllis Hermannise, uXoyoQupupt, so named from the horses 
feeding on it. The bees are fond of the flowers. 

20. Daphne dioica, ^epo^po'^aAo. This plant abounds on the 
mountains of Pendeli and Hymettus. It is used by the dyers at 
Athens, and Albanian women, for dyeing a yellow colour, and with 
indigo, green. 

21. Myrtus Communis, Mvprta, and in Cyprus, Mup<r/w. The 
varieties of the common myrtle with white fruit I observed near 
the monastery of Pendeli. Both this and the black fruit are eaten 
by the Athenians. The plant is used in garlands, and as an orna- 

Notes bij the Editor. 

carry with them a branch or rod of Agnus castus in their hand, it will keep them from 
merrygals and weariness. Herbal. 1202. This passage alludes to the opinion noticed by 
Diosc. i. 135. c. SoxeT Se xcuAu'njpiov slvai h oSoiwop/aij 7r«p«Tpi(U.ju.ar«)v eTiij jsa/38ov x. t. A. and 
Hasselquist observes, that " pilgrims make staffs of it." 1 30. In reference to the same 
opinion, the modern Greeks quote four lines, which are found in Dr. Sibthorp's journals. 

07to~io; -Kcoaaei oltto Auyeia, 

xati Sev xofyet xof^ari, 

vu >.uyeiVfl>), va /xapctvdrj, 

v« Tietrr) et; to xoajSflJr» f 
15. A corruption of the ancient lAsA/a-paxo;. Theoph. Hist. vi. 2. 
1/- The xeSpos of Theophrastus. 

21. " Et erant olim esui myrti baccae ; Plato suos cives ju-u^toi; tanquam bcllariis vesci 
voluit." Lib. xi. de Rep. Wessel. Obs. 52. 



PLANTS OF GREECE. 



241 



ment in some of the Greek churches. In Zante they have the 
following distich alluding to this custom. 

Xcoplg l<re 3lv yiverai kuvevcc Trccvviyvpi, 

Rubus fruticosus, Bare?. The fruit Mow pa is eaten in Greece. When 
it is plentiful, it is a sign of a good harvest. In Zante, a syrup is 
made from the fruit, called paropopavrffia, and is given in affections 
of the fauces. From it also a purple colour is drawn. 

23. Ficus Carica, c-wiu in Laconia; the flowers of the wild fig 
Ipivog are still used for the caprification of the cultivated fig, in various 
parts of Greece. 

24. Typha latifolia, tydQi. The stem and leaves are brought from 
the Lake of Marathon, and sold at Athens for the purpose of being 
made into mats. 

25. Carex Riparia, Ma%a/p/r<. The name is taken from the sharp 
edges, and forms of the leaves. I saw a quantity of this Carex cut to 
serve as the covering for the bee-hives at Pendeli. 

26. Arundo Donax, jtdxupo. A very important plant for various 
economical uses, and particularly for the employment of it in wicker- 

Notes by the Editor. 

23. The ancient word for this practice is avxxtyw, which is explained by tu epiva 
<rv\\eyeiv kit) nepictproiv. See Pollux. I. p. 143. The custom is mentioned in Aristotle, 
H. An. Lib. v. c. 26. 

" At Athens," says Mr. Hawkins, " they take the wild figs (opvot) in June, when the 
insect shews itself in them, string a few and suspend them on the branches of the domestic 
fig tree, without which it is believed all the fruit would drop. They also engraft a shoot 
or two of the wild fig tree on the domestic sort, which answers the same purpose. The 
caprification of figs is practised in Santorini nearly in the manner described by Tourne- 
fort, except that the term opivea. must be substituted for that of opvoj; and the following 
particulars should be added. The ophect fructifies first in December and January, when 
it produces the Prodotes, and, secondly, in March, when it produces the Lates, both which 
are used for caprifying." 

24. Tup>) of Theophr. His. i. 8. and Ulva palustris of Virgil. Sprengel. 

26. The 8ov«£ of Homer and Diosc. Sprengel. 159. Mr. Hawkins observed near the 
lake Copais the reeds, of which the flutes are made, and saw a herdsman playing on one 
of them. It was formed of the Arundo D. and called fko'ikp&si 

I I 



242 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



work. The rural pipe of the Greek shepherd, pWpa^, is made of the 
donax. — " The Donax which grows in the chasms of the rocks at 
Athos supplies the monks with fishing rods." — S. 

27. Arundo Phragmites, KuX'upoTgtdpa, grows in some marshy grounds 
near Calandra. 

28. Rubia Peregrina, dyfipfia-ct^ grows wild in the woody part of 
Pendeli, also on Parnassus. The root of the plant is in Zante used as 
a remedy in Rachitis. The country people take from it a dye of a 
red colour. 

29. Hyoscyamus Albus, «poV. The leaves are applied externally 
to the face as an opiate, or antispasmodic in the tooth-ache. In this 
complaint also the fumes of its burnt seed are received into the 
mouth. 

30. Pistachia Terebinthus, KoxoftT^tu. The fruit of this tree is eaten, 
and an oil expressed from it. In Cyprus it is called TfifitQm, the an- 
cient name, corrupted. The Cyprian turpentine was formerly much 
esteemed, and employed for medical uses ; at present the principal cul- 
tivation of the turpentine tree, as well as the mastic is in the island 
Scio, and the turpentine when drawn is sent to Constantinople. 

31. Lolium Temulentum, v A<pa. The seeds of this plant are often 
mixed with the corn, and when eaten occasion violent giddiness. 

32. Smilax Aspera, in Laconia, a-^lxayya. In Cyprus |uXo73«to?. 
The flowers are extremely fragrant, and are put into the wine to give 
it a grateful flavour. The root is used in Zante as a depurator of the 
blood in the room of Sarsaparella. 

Notes by the Editor. 

28. Rubia Tinctorum is called pitypu Sibthorp. See also Du Cange in v. Tournefort 
says that the red leather at Tocat is dyed with madder. Lett. ix. 

29. Called also >j Upa /3ot«v»), and 8«ij«.ov«pea. At Constantinople and in most of the 
Greek islands, it preserves its" ancient name voa-xvotpos. 

31. Retains its ancient name. In the Geoponica we find a similar observation to that 
of Dr. Sibthorp, uipa aprot; pyvu/Aevr) o-xotoj touj e<r8iovTag. p. 199. 1. Niclas. Ed. This 
plant is the tygdvtov of St. Matthew, xiii.; the Ziwan of the Arabian botanists; and the 
Rosck of the Old Testament. See Michaelis on the Laws of Moses, iii. 357- 

32. 2/x»Aa£ of Theophrastus and Dioscorides. The fragrancy of the flowers is alluded 
to in the words of Aristophanes in the Nubes, a^lKuxos o£wv, 1006. 



PLANTS OF GREECE. 



243 



33. Asphodelus Ramosus, Kapufio'Sw. This plant is very common 
in the plain of Athens ; if it ripens into seed well it is a sign of a good 
harvest. In Zante the leaves are used to stuff the mattresses of the 
peasants. It is still called »<r<poh\o i and in Cyprus the Turks make a 
sort of paste or glue which is used for various purposes. 

34. Amaryllis Lutea, dy^oxfivu-, grows abundantly on Anchesmus, 
and the mountain of Attica ; it is used as a coronary or ornamental 
plant. The Turks make it grow on the graves of their deceased friends. 

35. Juncus Acutus gfivXc, is of great importance for various econo- 
mical purposes. It is manufactured into cords and brushes, and in 
Zante as well as in Attica into baskets, TTrvpioug, for carrying the olives. 
The Zantiotes employ the stalks in the vineyard to bind the vine, and 
use the seeds boiled as a cathartic. 

36. Cyperus Longus, mir&fu The roots are taken medicinally for 
the disorders of the stomach. The leaves are used for stringing and 
bringing the roots to Athens, and for tying the wild figs on the culti- 
vated tree. 

37. Asparagus Aphyllus, eecrjraptyyt. The season for this is princi- 
pally during the time of Lent, when it is boiled and eaten. 

38. Rumex Pulcher, x«Mr«0e. Other species of docks are called by 
this name. The leaves are employed for making the Turkish Dolma, 
and are boiled and eaten with oil. 

39. Capparis Spinosa, gs^Tgwp, very common on the road side from 
Athens to the Piraeus. The young shoots are used as a pickle, and 
preserved in vinegar. 

Notes by the Editor. 

34. " The Amaryllis lutea," Sibthorp says, " is planted by the Turks over the graves 
of their friends." The asphodel and myrtle were placed over tombs by the ancients and 
the latter I have observed to be used by the Turks for a similar purpose. Myrtum tumulo 
imponebant antiqui. Vossius de Idol. v. 665. ; and in an epigram of Porphyry, a tomb is 
supposed to address a passer by. " On the outside I have the mallow and the asphodel ; 
within I enclose a dead body." — Heinsius in Hesiod, E. xau H. 41. 

35. Called also fSoupAo, see Du C. in v. It is the i%v<rxwoc of Dioscorides . Prod. FL Gr. 

36. Koirsifor of Dioscorides and Hippocrates, Sprengel. The recent name Zs^vct is 
found in the Geoponica, Lib. ii. 

i i 2 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



40. Cistus Creticus, XczSccvsia. Different species of Cistus which 
grow in Attica are distinguished by this name ; but the laudanum is 
not collected. Crete and Cyprus are the only places at present where 
it is gathered. Cistus incanus is called at Constantinople XeiSetbb ; it is 
infused into the baths to give them a fragrant odour. 

41. Arum Maculatum, dpotyJvtiv, in Laconia a gov. It grows in great 
abundance about the monastery of Pendeli. The root is used by the 
inhabitants of the Morea in times of great scarcity for bread, being 
previously boiled and then pounded. 

42. Satureia Capitata, Qvpupi. This is the most general plant on the 
mountains of Pendeli and Hymettus. It is to this flower that the 
Hymettian honey owes its celebrity ; indeed most of the honey of 
Attica is drawn by the bees from the flowers of this plant. Attic 
honey is still in high esteem, and presents of it are sent to Con- 
stantinople. 

43. Satureia Thymbra, Opovfiy, grows on Anchesmus, Pendeli, and 
Hymettus, and is mixed with the Satureia capitata, but not in large 
quantities. It appears to be a favorite plant with the bees. Pounded 
or chopped it is sprinkled on some vegetables to give them an aro- 
matic flavour. 

44. Orobanche Caryophyllacea, Xvhos, a parasitic plant found fre- 
quently in the bean-fields, and very destructive to the crops. It does not 
appear in the first sowing, but when the beans are sown the second or 

Notes by the Editor. 

40. K/o-toj of Theoph. and Hipp. Belon, lib. i. c. 7. Obser. gives an account of the in- 
strument epyao-TY)^ with which the laudanum is collected. Tournefort describes the manner 
of taking it off from the shrub by whips ; it is also mentioned by Dioscorides, who says 
*f that it was combed from the beards and thighs of the goats, which browsed on the cistus." 
Lib. i. c. 128. 

41. The two names occur in Athenaeus, lib. ix. SpaxoVnov, 6 eviot upov. Gerarde says it is 
eaten, being sodden in two or three waters. 686. 

42. ©o/xof of Hipp, and Theophr. Galen speaks of it as the favourite food of the bees. 
SprengeL 

44. See Du Cange in v. Auxoj. 



PLANTS OF GREECE. 



245 



third time. It is considered as the most detrimental weed in the 
bean-field. 

45. Malva Sylvestris, po\u%ot in Cyprus. The wild mallow is very 
common about Athens. The leaves are boiled and eaten as a pot- 
herb, and an ingredient in the Dolma. 

46. Scolymus Maculatus, a,<rn6\vu.^o. The young leaves of this 
plant are eaten as a sallad. 

47. Erigeron Graveolens, xovorQa. ; ^wla-r^a. in the Morea ; the 
expressed herb gives a green colour, and is used by the Albanian 
women in dyeing their yam. Powdered and applied as a cataplasm 
to the head it destroys lice. The gummy juice exuding from the 
stalk and leaves, entangles bugs, fleas, and other insects ; and with 
this view is laid by the Greek peasants under their beds. 

48. Agaricus Campestris, a^Wtij?, most frequently found in the 
old pcZvtyoi', where the sheep and goats have fed. It is esteemed 
here as the best sort of mushroom. The Agaricus Procerus is also 
called by the same name, and eaten by the Greeks. 

49. Scilla Officinalis, o-KtWoxpopp J< ; this is common on Hymettus 
and throughout Attica. The root is used medicinally, made into an 
electuary. 

50. Euphorbia Characias, <p\o'pos. This is used by the Greek 
fishermen to poison the fish ; but caught by these means, they 
become putrid a short time after they are taken. 

51. Osyris Alba, Trkevpiro.jiop™, a decoction of the root being taken 
in pleurisies. It is called in Zante 'm^iopkt^ as brushes are made of 
it, and v-bxnivoa-ttot^ro from the fruit which is red. 

52. Punica Granatum, %o<$ix, grows near Phalerus ; but is here pro- 
bably the outcast of the garden. It grows abundantly about Daulis, 
and is frequent in Bceotia. 

Notes by the Editor. 

47. The xo'vujja /j.si%a>v of Dioscorides. 

48. Mvxus of Theophrastus ; ajxav'/rijf, Botanicorum vox. See Thorn. Magis. Oudend. 
620. 



246 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



53. Echium Italicum, yXwoTrnrtroc, the name given by the Athenian 
shepherds ; evidently a corruption of Lycopsis. 

54. Carthamus Corymbosus, ^a^aXeo, the ^a^aiXewv of Dioscorides. 
It grows plentifully near the Piraeus ; it is called in Cyprus o)Ssp*tf 

55. Nigella Damascena, paQpoKOKKo ; in Cyprus, ptiufejazmitfctisiq', the 
Turks sprinkle the seeds of this plant on their caimak, a favourite 
dish ; and the Greeks, mixed with sesamum on their bread ; a very 
ancient custom mentioned by Dioscorides. It is also called 7ro^ox°? TO 
from the crackling of the scariose capsules. 

56. Amygdalus Communis Sylvestris, 7rittpoapv<y$a.\a, grows on the 
way side from Athens to the Piraeus. The fruit being pounded is 
rubbed on the skin in coming out of the bath. Hedges are frequently 
formed of it for the vineyard, and the wood is employed for the tubes 
of pipes. 

57. Conium Maculatum, puyyowx, and KocpovcZxi, grows abundantly 
in the low grounds under the temple of Theseus. It is used like the 
(phonos to poison fish. 

58. Salsola Fruticosa, ccxpv^u, the gathering of this in the marshes 
adjoining to Phalerus to make soda is farmed at 500 piastres per 
annum. The Cypriotes call it dtXpvgtSt ; it is esteemed by them an ex- 
cellent fodder for camels ; they prepare from its ashes also an alkali 
used in the manufacture of soap and glass. 

59. Pinus Picea, Ixutyi. The wood of the Silver fir is employed 
by the carpenters for various purposes. In ship-building it furnishes 
masts. It is found in Attica on Mount Parnes, where it grows in 
great abundance. 

Mr. Hawkins observes that it grows in other parts of Greece on 
the highest mountains ; it may not therefore now be much used 
in ship-building ; the Greek navigators are able to procure very 
strait poles of the wevKog from Thasos, or masts both of the Silver 
fir, and Spruce fir from Fiume. 

Notes by the Editor. 

55. " Inter condimentarias herbas papaver et sesamum non postremum locum tene- 
bant." Casaub. in Athen. 134. 
57. See Du Cange in v. Mayyouva. 



PLANTS OF GREECE. 



247 



60. Atropa Mandragora, Mavfyayoupu, called also yopyoyotvi. Used 
for its supposed aphrodisiac qualities. 

61. Viscum Album, MsXXa. This grows on the Silver fir on Mount 
Parnes. It is not the plant from which they at present make bird- 
lime, but from the Loranthus Europaeus, which is called o£oV, and 
grows in the mountains of Euboea, and at Athos. 

62. Eryngium Campestre, a^aV^ to fioravt. The bruised root 
is applied by the Athenian shepherds to cure their asses when bitten 
by venomous serpents. The following verses are made on this 
plant : 

I a.yaTTy\i; to {jotc&vi 

Kj-noioq to tog;, kui aev to 7riot,vei t 

Ttjv a.yiX7rrjVy oVou e^;e<, y^avsi. 

63. Papaver Rhceas, TraTrcn^owix. A syrup is drawn in Zante from 
the flowers, and an infusion of them taken as a pectoral. In Cyprus 
it is called weiwU from the red colour of the flower resembling a 
cock's crest ; it is worn by the Greek girls as an ornament to their 
head-dress. Papaver somniferum is called at Constantinople pdKav; 
the heads of it are bruised and drank in decoction for coughs. 

Notes by the Editor. 

60. The same superstitious uses are now attributed to this plant as to the mandragora 
of the ancients. Mandragora? putatur vis inesse amorem conciliandi. Vossius de Idol, 
lib. v. 

" I entered into conversation," says Dr. Hume in one of his journals, " with a Russian, 
who had studied medicine at Padua, and was now settled at Limosol in Cyprus. In giving 
me an account of the curiosities which he possessed he mentioned to me a root, in some 
degree resembling the human body, for at one end it was forked, and had a knob at the 
other, which represented the head, with two sprouts immediately below it for the arms. 
This wonderful root he had dug up, he said, in the Holy Land with no little risque, for 
the instant it appeared above the ground it killed two dogs, and would have killed him 
also had he not been under the influence of magic." It is evident that the Russian doctor 
was repeating some of the absurd stories that have been circulated from very early times 
respecting the anthropomorphic character of the mandragora, and its supposed noxious 
properties. In Lambecius Bib. Vin. lib. ii. torn. 2. is an engraving from a MS. of Dios- 
corides ; a dog, having pulled up a root of mandragora, is represented as dying. Under 
the print are these words, xvwv avacrn-aSv tov MavSpxyopuv, enur, ctiroQvyvxwv. See also in 
Josephus, lib. vii. b. 3. the account of the root Baara. 



248 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



64. Tamus Communis, o@pjm§4 The shoots are gathered and boiled 
as asparagus in the Spring. 

65. Ceratonia Siliqua, £uXo>cep»Tia, grows abundantly in the forest of 
Sarando-potamo. It abounds also in Cyprus, where it still retains its an- 
cient name *sp<*T<a. The fruit is considered an object of commerce, and 
more than twenty loads annually are exported to the coast of Syria. 

66. Rhamnus Graecus. The berries of this are collected and sold 
to the dyers for dyeing a yellow colour. 

67. Orchis Mascula, <ra.pviKo@oTuvi. The Salep consumed in great 
quantity by the Turks at Constantinople is made of the bulbous roots 
of different species of orchis and ophrys, which grow in an open and 
dry soil. The ancient names are forgotten, though their aphrodisiac 
qualities are still held in esteem by the Turks. 

68. Populus Nigra, Xtuxy, grows near Lebadea in Boeotia, and is 
called by the same name as the white poplar. 

69. Saccharum Ravennae, jc«A«p, grows abundantly on the road 
side between Thespia and Lebadea. The peasants make use of it for 
covering their Callivia and hovels. 

70. Sambucus Nigra, xov<p6%v\ov. This grows about Lebadea, and 
forms the hedge to the vineyards. The flowers in Zante are used in 
infusion as a collyrium. 

ZANTE. 

71. Verbena Officinalis. On the 24th June, the day of St. John, 
the Zantiotes carry this plant in their cincture, as an amulet to drive 
away evil spirits, and to preserve them from various mischief. 

Notes by the Editor. 

63. The fojaj of Theophrastus and Diosc. Pap. somniferum is ^xiey of Dioscor. "A 
pristinis inde temporibus, caulis largiebatur succum, opium nostrum, quod vY,wev6sg dictum. 
Odys. iv. Sprengel. His. R. H. i. 25. In his route across Asia Minor, Mr. Browne ob- 
served abundance of opium collected near Angora. 

64. Bp uwv»K of Nicander, Ther. which is explained by &y.we\os Stypia in the Vatican MS. 
See T. viii. Notice des MS. du Roi. 

68. " uiyaipo<popo; r\ ^otcorla" says M. Tyrius, Diss. 29. 

71. Now called a-Tuupofioruvrj, it is the kpa. fioruvri of Dioscoridcs. — Prod. Fl. Gr. ii. 402. 



PLANTS OF GREECE. 



249 



72. Salvia Officinalis. The apples, as they are called, or the 
tumour on this plant, (poio-xopyXici, the effect of the puncture of a species 
of cynips, are made into a conserve with honey. These excrescences 
are also found on Salvia pomifera. 

73. Dipsacus Sylvestris, pepojcpanj. The water collected in the 
cavity of the leaves is used as a cosmetic by the Greek girls. 

74. Iris Graminea. The root of the Iris is used as a cosmetic and 
is dried and powdered, and rubbed on the "cheek. In Cyprus it is 
called fiovpSiXia-t, evidently a corruption from the Italian Fior di Lis. It 
is sometimes called xptvog, the name properly applied to Liliumalbum. 

75. Thapsia Villosa. The young leaves are gathered among the 
plants that form the ay^ia Xa%ava. The expressed juice of the flowers 
is used with the Verbascum blattaria to dye yellow the wool which is 
manufactured into the coarse carpets called T^vlaig. 

76. Anethum Fceniculum. The tops are used in preserving the 
green olives, and are chopped and served up with the Octopodia. 

77. Cuscuta Europaea, one of the Greek names in Zante, imports "the 
thread spun by the Nereids," dvepui$ovepa.Ta. From the twisting and twin- 
ing of the stems, it is compared by the Greeks to the dishevelled hair 
of the Nereids ; they also call it MaXta, ryg Ua.va.yiag, " the hair of the Vir- 
gin." At Constantinople it is named lirdvpov, the ancient word in Dios- 
corides, and is given with Artemisia Pontica [utyvQiov) in fevers. 

78. Verbascum Thapsus, (pxo^og. The dried flower stalk is used 
on St. John's day, dipped in oil, as a torch. The saint from the bon- 
fires used on this day is called "Ayiog Icodwyg Aa^ira^d^g. 

79. Daucus Nobilis. The churches, particularly the pavements are 
adorned with this plant during Easter. Crosses also are made of it, 
and put behind the door from Easter Sunday to the Ascension. The 
leaves are used in culinary preparations for dressing the eels. An oil 
also is made from the berries. 

Notes by the Editor. 

72. See Belon's remarks on the Pommes de Sauge in Crete, lib. i. c. 1 7. and Tournefort, 
Letter ii. " In Creta ac etiam in quibusdam Apulia; et Calabriee locis, Salvia in cacumine 
gignit tnbercula queedam, gallarum instar, subalbida." Dios. Mathiol. 378. 

77- See Du Cange in v. Nepoifcc. 

K K 



250 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



80. Ruta Graveolens, uvvyotvovt is externally applied in rheumatic 
pains, to the joints, feet, and loins. 

81. Ranunculus Ficaria; the name $%«lfo«gT* comes from the use of 
the roots applied in the Haemorrhoids. 

82. Reseda Alba. The whole plant and the seeds also, being bruised, 
yield a yellow colour which is used by the Zantiotes for dyeing silk. 

83. Acanthus Spinosus, eitcwQm of Dioscorides, now called ^ourptW. 
It is gathered by the Zantiotes on the first of May, and forms the cen- 
tral part of their garlands, which they suspend on that day in festoons. 

84. Pisum Ochrus, the Zantiotes of the mountains make use of this 
seed mixed with their bread. 

85. Lathyrus Sativus, dypioXaQovpt. The Zantiotes makes use of 
the seeds of this plant decorticated for a yellow polenta. 

86. Vicia Sativa, @yKa, used as an artificial fodder by the Zantiotes ; 
the seeds are ground and used as a flower mixed with the bread by 
the Cephallonians. 

87. Cicer Arietinum, gofiiQi ; the seeds are used boiled in soup. 

88. Glycyrrhiza Glabra, yXvKopigu; the root of this plant is collected 
and exported to Alexandria as an object of commerce to be made 
into sherbet and syrup. 

89. Hypericum Perforatum, fiuXcrccpov, at Mount Athos, and <nra.Q6xp$To 
at Constantinople. The flowers infused in oil are left 40 days in the 
sun, when the oil tinged of a red colour is used as a vulnerary. 

y0. Hypericum Cor is, xcpig of Dioscorides ; the leaves have a strong 
balsamic aromatic smell ; a yellow colour is drawn from them. 

91. Scorzonera Tenuifolia, the root being cut in pieces is used in 
decoction, as a sweetener of the blood. 

92. Micropus Erectus ; an infusion of this plant is taken for the 
Tinea capitis, as the Greek name Kcztriooxopro implies. 

Notes by the Editor. 
81. See Du Cange in v. xo»ju.wju.eVai. 

87. "'Eoe/3/vfloi formed a commoi) dessert among the ancient Greeks, eaten green and ten- 
der; or, when dry, parched in the fire." See Gray on the Io of Plato. " 'Ep/3/v0oJ 
Trefpvypevoi," says Coray, " are now called o-T(5«y«Ai«." " II y a plusieurs boutiques en 
Darnas, qui ne font autre ouvrage, que rotir des poischiches, qu'ils appcllent denom Grec 
vulgairc, Ervithia." — Belon. Obs. 152. 

92. From x«<ri'S«, Porrigo. Du Cange in v. 



PLANTS OF GREECE. 



251 



93. Viola Odorata, called tov pixav in Laconia. A syrup is drawn 
from the flower. It is an ' admired plant of the poets ; hence the 
following distich. 

N« crcv roc /3aA«, f^arta l uov i eig Tctig (lXay.o^a,occiq, 

" Hyacinths, violets, musk-roses and lemon flowers, I throw on 
my love to remove the marks of your small-pox." 

(The first word is indistinct in the manuscript. BXxxo parous is 
not found in Du Cange, but in Sommavera. — E.) 

94. Aristolochia Longa, is a much esteemed medicine in the 
Rachitis, in intermittents and other fevers. The roots for this 
purpose are exported to Venice and Italy. As a medicine also to 
puerperous women its medical powers are so great that it is considered 
as a specific, and called by the Zantiotes, 

95. Scilla Maritima abounds in the island of Zante ; it is an 
object of commerce, and is exported to Holland and England. A 
sequin for a 1000 roots is paid for collecting them. It is called 
ct&iuKka. at Constantinople ; and is made into paste with honey for 

' the asthma, or applied in cataplasms to the joints affected with 
rheumatic pains. 

96. Asparagus Acutifolius, rTrxpuyyovvicc. The shoots appear in Febru- 
ary, and continue until May; they are eaten boiled with oil and vinegar. 
In Cyprus it is called ocg-t: ■x.pc&yoc, the ancient name in Dioscorides. 

97. Spartium Spinosum, d<npu.\a.KTos i one of the earliest flowering 
shrubs, and the prodromus of the spring. Spartium Villosum in 
Cyprus still retains its ancient name somewhat corrupted, aWAa#os-, 
the dcnrctkoSoq of Dioscorides. 

98. Fumaria Officinalis xa^vm ; the herb is pounded, and an 
infusion is made which is taken for exanthematous complaints, and a 
prurient itching of the skin. 

99. Mercurialis Annua, -nufavovSi, taken in infusion with Agrimonia 

Notes by the Editor. 

99. Called also a-xupo\ux civov ( see ^ u ^" m v * noipQevovh) from the reason assigned by 
Dr. Sibthorp. , 

K K 2 



252 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



Eupatorium, as an Emmenagogue. In Cyprus it is called o-Kape^opTo ; the 
Labrus Scarus of Linnaeus is said to be fond of the plant, and the fisher- 
men, when they go to fish, throw quantities of it among the rocks. 

100. Peucedanum Officinale, /xeyx^ordvo, in Laconia, ttzwiIuvov. The 
root of this plant is applied in cataplasms to the heads of new born 
infants, as a preservative against hydrocephalous and strumous swell- 
ings of the neck. 

101. Matricaria Suaveolens, ^a^c^x^, an infusion of the flowers is 
drank in bilious and nervous fevers, and made use of also in deafness 
to syringe the ears. 

102. Lavandula Staechas >j.a,{3pcKz<pa\i ; an infusion of it is drank 
for catarrhs and head-aches. It is called in Patmos Xapir$o\ov\ou$i ; 
the Patmian women deck their churches with this plant on Easter 
Sunday ; whence its name Xauirfig, which signifies a luminous feast. 

103. Nymphaea Lutea, vovtpup, a sherbet is made of it and taken in 
colds ; it is found in the lakes of Thessaly. 

104. Cannabis Sativa, drank in infusion brings on deliquescence 
and delirium ; it is taken by the patient previously to the operation 
performed by the surgeon. Roiled with oil, it serves as a liniment to 
remove rheumatic pains. 

105. Helleborus Officin. — "We are certain, I believe (says Sir 
James Smith in a letter to the editor), of the eX\i(2opog ^Aa? of 
Dioscorides only, called in modern Greek <rr.ci$(p% which is Helleborus 
offici. Prodr. Fl. Gr. a species unknown to Linnaeus, though near his 
H. niger. What the white Hellebore of the ancients was, we are 
not clear. Sibthorp suspected it to be Digitalis ferruginea. It is 
commonly thought to be Veratrum album." 

Notes by the Editor. 

104. Used as an aphrodisiac and narcotic in Egypt. (Browne, 274.) The Arabs swallow 
a preparation of the leaves of green hemp for the purpose of exhilaration. (Pococke. i. 181.) 
Menou was obliged to prohibit strictly the use of the seeds of this plant among the French 
army in Egypt. (Mem.de PInstit. 1805.) The seeds of hemp, according to Galen, de 
Alim. Facul. i. 34. were an ingredient in cakes served up after supper to encourage drink- 
ing ; but they were apt when eaten too freely to affect the head. — Russell's Aleppo, 



PLANTS OF GREECE. 



253 



(Mr. Hawkins observes, that the hellebore grows only on elevated 
tracts, for instance on Palseovuno, Mount Helicon. Melius in 
Helicone. Pliny, lib. xxv. c. 5. — E.) 

106. Chrysanthemum Coronarium, called by the Greeks of Cyprus 
Aa^apo, because the women ornament their heads with it the Sunday 
after the day kept to commemorate the resurrection of Lazarus. In 
Laconia it is called 

107. Lonicera Caprifolium, dyianX'/ipa, used by the girls of Patmos 
for garlands, and as an ornament for their head-dress. 

108. c £A/^puo-oj/, probably Gnaphallium Stsechas. The images of 
the Gods, says Dioscorides, were crowned with it. Lib. iv. c. 57. 
The Greeks still use it as a Planta Coronaria to adorn the Panagia. 



PLANTS COLLECTED IN CYPRUS BY DR. HUME. 



At Limosol in July. 



Gossypium hirsutum 

herbaceum 

Olea Europsea 
Papaver rhaeas 
Morus alba 

rubra 

Rhamnus paliurus 
Robinia spinosa 
Hypericum repens 



Poterium spinosum 
Juniperus 

Sempervivum sediforme 
Punica granatum 
Ononis 
Orobanche 
Nicotiana pusilla 
Onosma orientalis 
Jasminum grandiflorum 



Notes by the Editor. 

107. We find the same kind of flowers, which were worn by the ancient Greeks, used 
now as ornaments or coronary plants, o-re^swojaa-nxa avQrj. They are placed not only round 
the head and on the breast, but are sometimes pendant by the sides of the temples and 
ears. " Obtinet," says Coray, " etiamnum apud Grsecos mos flores solutos inter tempora 
et aures inserendi, ita ut pediculus quidem sub pileo teneatur lateatque, flos vero pendeat 
saepe aure ima tenus." In Athen. c. 7§< lib. 12. 



254 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



At Lamica and Limosol in June and July- 



Convolvulus 


"IT • 11" 

Veronica anagallis 


Convolvulus repens 


TjI 1 • P 1 * f 11 j 1 

JLythrum hyssopilohum (collected 


X ■ 1 ■ 1 j * 1 * 

Eepidium latilolium 


near the aqueduct) 


Hibiscus 


Hypericum nummularia 


Chenopodium album 


otatice lartanca 


Heliotropium Europaeum 


Adianthum 


A 1 

Amaranthus 


Antirrhinum spurium 


/"I 111 " 

Calendula arvensis 


* "XT • 1 1 

JNermm oleander 


solan um 


Anthemis tinctoria 


o. nigrum 


rlumbago Europsea 


o. lycopersicon 


Cyprus tusca 


T» 1 j 1 11 

rolycarpon tetraphyllum 


Kosa sempervivens 


Chehdonium glaucum 


(Enothera 


rteronia 


hirta 


T 11 

Cavendula 


Engerum viscosum 


Baccharis Dioscoridis 


Galium rubioides 


Ruta Chalepensis 


Echium Creticum 


Cistus crispus 


Sideritis incana 


C. Creticus 


Momordica elatenum 


Ceratonia siliqua 


Reseda luteola 


Ricinus communis 


Mentha 


Thymbra spicata 


Myrtus communis 


Til i * j * 

rlantago maritima 


.Narcissus tazetta 


Carthamus Creticus 


Rosmarinus 


Salsola laniflora 


Capparis spinosa 


Malva sylvestris 


Euphorbia 


M. Cypriana* 


Hyoscyamus 


Mercurialis tomentosa 


Chrysanthemum cororiarium 


Eryngium pusillum 


Panicum glaucum 


Fumaria spicata 


Inula pulicaria. 



* Specific name given by Mr. Don. 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



255 



BIRDS, QUADRUPEDS, AND FISHES. 

[FROM DR. SIB THORP'S MSS.} 

Y1C2E. 

Found in Cyprus. 

1. Corvus Corax kov pa-tog. 

2. C. Comix uo$a.<rivog. 

3. C. Monedula xoXowg. 

4. C. Pica xtzT^oKopdva. 

5. C. Glandarius xio-<ru. 

6. Coracias Garrula y^axvXog, xapocxa.^a. 

7. Oriolus Galbula (pxu^dg. 

8. Cuculus Canorus koxkv%. 

9. Merops Apiaster p'epoty. 

10. ' Upupa Epops Bovfiovgtov. 

Found in parts of Greece. 

11. Corvus Graculus xomuvopm. 

Notes by the Editor. 

3. Corvus Mon. This bird retains its ancient name, xoaoioj. See Schneider in H. A. 
Arist. 

9. Merops A. Perhaps the /xspovj/ of Aristotle, H. A. lib. ix. c. 14. See Schneider. 
It is found in Syria also, in the woods and plains between Acre and Nazareth. — 
Hasselquist. 

10. Upupa E. Migratory in every part of Europe it does not remain during the 
winter even in Greece and Italy. — Buffon. Its name in Greece is uypioir'iTEivov. Heryvov 
is sometimes found in ancient MSS., but probably it should be irereivov. — Thom. Ma. 
Ed. Ouden. 765. 

11. Corvus G. The Romaic name of the Cornish chough, signifies literally " Red 
bill." It was seen on the mountains of Crete by Belon ; it is the xopuxia; $omxopvy%os 
of Aristotle. Schn. in lib. ix. c. 19. 



Names in parts of Greece. 

KOiXXiKovavi. 
Id. 

X£V(roxotpaKoiPa\ 

crVKotpccyi. 

Id. 

piiXi(raro(paycg. 
txy^iOTVZTiivov. 



256 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



Found in parts of Greece. 

12. Sitta Europsea t^v7to^vXo. 

13. Alcedo Ispida BacnXoVouAi. 

In Thessahj. 

14. Corvus Corone xopuo-evog. 

15. Picus Viridis rpvirofcuXo. 

16. P. Major Id. 

17. P. Medius Id. 



ACCIPITRES. 



Found in Cyprus. Names in parts of Greece. 

1. Vultur derog. 

% Falco Tinnunc. kot^. dvi^oyo<.vog. 

3. F. Melanops. pot/Spopctri, 

4. F. Ierax lepaKi. 

5. Falco ■ <pot\x,ovi. 

Notes by the Editor. 

12. Sitta E. The following words of Buffon illustrate the meaning of the Romaic 
term ; " Cet oiseau frappe de son bee l'ecorce des arbres." 
15. Picus V. The xcXeoj of Arist. H. A. lib. viii. c. 15. Schn. 

2. Falco T. The Kestril was called xeyxps by the ancient Greeks. 

4. Falco Ierax, Jepaxi. The diversion of hawking is still followed by the Turks in dif- 
ferent parts of Asia Minor and Syria. The word Ie'pa£ is retained by the Greeks, with a 
slight corruption, in the names of some birds of the genus falco : and in Crete the falconer 
is called Upaxdpi. The Ilp«£ was the bird employed in ancient times in Thrace, in fowling 
and hunting, as we learn from Aristotle, H. A. Lib. ix. c. 6. and a writer not much junior 
to him (de Mir.) informs us, that the hawks appeared when called by their names, and 
brought to the fowlers the prey which they had caught. — Beckman. i. 330. 

In Syria seven different kinds of hawks are employed ; they are taught to fly at herons, 
storks, wild geese, francolines, partridges, and quails. One sort is used in hunting the 
antelope; the bird strikes at the game, and thus impedes its course until the dogs come up. 
Russell, ii. 153- 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



257 



Found in Cyprus. 

6. F. t^uvoc. 

7. Strix Passerina KOKoQui'a.. 



Names in parts of Greece. 



av^oyavog. 



Found in Greece. 



8. Vultur Orneo 

9. V. Asproparos 

10. Falco Chrysaetos 

11. F. Peregrinus 

12. F. Kirkenasi 

13. F. Marathonius 

14. F. Livadiensis 

15. F. Suniensis 

16. Strix Bubo 

17. Strix 

18. Lanius Collurio 
L. Cephalas 



opvec. 
dsroc. 

i 



In Thessal. opvso pxvpo 
and opveo utrir^o. 

Id. 
Id. 



jcoupo in Thessal. 
Id. in Thessal. 



Found in Thessaly. 

19. Falco Haliaetos 

20. F. Cyaneus 

21. Falco |U.a/3po<Epa^;. 

22. F. iEruginosus ^x^'pa^;. 

Notes by the Editor. 

7. Strix Passerina, xouxou/3a»r), explained by Phavorinus, ij yXuvj;. See also the Scholiast 
on Oppian, Lib. i. Hal. 170. In Eustathius (on Od. E.) quoted by Du C. the word is 
xouxovficti, in the plural. 

8. Vultur Orneo, opvso p/xfipo, perhaps the great black vulture found, according to Belon, 
in Egypt, and the isles of the Archipelago. 

12. Falco Kirkenasi. Dr. Sibthorp, speaking of this bird in one part of his journals, 
says, " a hawk, very like our kestril, flew round the house at Argos, called Kirkenasi." 
19. Falco Haliaetos, the <p>j'v»j of the ancients. — Schn. in H. A. Lib. ix. c. 24. 
22. Falco iEruginosus, called xtpx.bc anciently. 

L L 



258 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



Found in Thessaly. 

23. F. Subbuteo 

24. Strix Otus 

25. Lanius Excubitor Ke(j>otXatg. 

26. L. Cyanocephalus Id. 

27. L. Coccinocepha- 

lus Id. 

28. L. Rufus Id. 



ANSERES. 



Found in Cyprus. 

1. Anas Anser do- 



mes. 

2. A. Boschas dom. 

3. A. B. Sylv. 

4. A. Circia 

5. A. Cypria 

6. Pelicanus Carbo 

7. Colymbus Auritus 

8. Larus Ridibundus 



<ra,pa~e\Xix. 

KOiXTjKOiT^OV. 



9. L. Canus 

10. L. Marinus 

11. Procellaria Puffi- 

nus 

12. Larus Minutus 

13. Sterna Minuta 



Id. 
Id. 



XtXi^ovi ryg 6a.Xa.<r(r7]S. 



Names in parts of Greece. 

Id. 
Id. 
Id. 

Id. in Thessal. 

Id. in Graecia. 
Id. in Thessal. 



Found in Thessaly. 

14. Anas Cygnus kvkvo;. 

Notes by the Editor. 
24. Strix Otus, '&tos of the Greeks; seen in Cilicia by Belon. 

4. Anas Circia, <rap<jeh\ct. Sarcelle d' ete of the French. 

) 3. Sterna Mi. ^sAioaiv>), the Romaic and corrupted form of ^eAi&cuv, is found in Tzetzes 
ad Hesiod. — Heinsius, 87> 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



259 



Found in Thessaty. 



Names tn parts of Greece. 



15. Anas Cygnus 

16. A. — 

17. A. 

18. Sterna Hirundo 

19. Sterna Nasvia 

20. S. Vulgaris 



TTpUS'lVOTCetpeCA.I, 
XOKKlVOKltpCcXl. 



-^sXiSovi rqq GacXa <T(Ti\q. aa^oc(3a,Xcx.KOi in Graecia. 
Id. 



GRALL^E. 



Found in Cyprus. 

1. Ardea Purpurascens QepK07rovXt. 

2. A. Nycticorax 

3. A. Alba 

4. A. Major 

5. A. Minuta 

6. Scolopax Arquata 

7. S. Cyprius 

8. S. Totanus 

9. S. Gallinago 
10. Tringa Varia 
lis T. Cinclus 
12. T. Littorea 



Names in parts of Greece. 



Id. 

TpoAcup/da Tvjg QocXoccrtrrig. 
vepoX/^/. 

QsKKOtT^OVVl. Id. 

irXcvuih. 

yiozi in Thessal. 



Notes by the Editor. 

2. Ardea Nyc. called at Constantinople vujcnxo'paxa, Forskal. It is the /3u«j of Aristot. 
Lib. viii. c. 5. H. A. Schn. 

5. Ardea Minuta. See a representation of this bird in Russell's Aleppo, ii. 

6. Scolopax Arquata. The name of the curlew, says Buffon, Courtis, tourlis, is an 
imitation of its voice. The Romaic term is also T^oopAj. 

8. Scolopax Tot. The Romaic name of the spotted redshank refers to its frequenting 
the neighbourhood of rivers, vepo\ih. " Ad ripas fluviorum," says Linnaeus. 

9. Scolopax G. The snipe arrives in Egypt in November when the rice is taken off 
from the fields, and passes the winter there. — Sonnini. 

L L 2 



260 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



Found in Cyprus. Names in parts of Greece. 

13. Charadrius Spinosus 'luviT^ccpu xaXipdvi in Grecia. 

14. C. CEdicnemus TpoAoup/Ja rrjsyys. 
T5. C. Himantopus 

16. C. Hiaticula 

17. Haematopus Ostra- 

legus 

18. Fulica Chloropus 

19. Rallus Crex 

Found in Greece. 

20. Ardea Ciconia 7rsAap'/0?, tca.'Kctfji.ouKotvoq. 7re\excx,vog. 

21. Ardea Cinerea fyotpoipotyog. Id. in Thessal. 

22. Scolopax Rusticola ^vXokotic. ^tXoxotcx, at Athos. 

* 

23. Tringa Gambetta 

24. Otis Tarda 777017. «t*?, in Lemnos. 

In Thessaly. 

25. Ardea Grus 

26. A. Garzetta 

27. Tringa Vanellus y.aXi[xavi. 

28. Charadrius Pluvialis veponovXt. 

Notes by the Editor. 

13. Charadrius Spinosus. This bird was shot by Wheler in Greece, and is seen, says 
Sonnini, in Egypt. It is found on the banks of the Aleppo river, and is represented in a 
plate in Russell's Aleppo, ii. 

M. Chara. CEdic. perhaps the ^apa8p«oj of Aristot. H. A. Lib. ix. c. 12. — Schn. 

21. Ardea Cinerea. The Romaic name of the heron signifies "Fish-eater." 

22. Scolopax Rust. The woodcock passes by Constantinople in September, in its flight 
to Syria, and returns in February and March. Forskal. It arrives in Egypt about 
November. — Sonnini. Belon gives the name £uAop»0«. 

24. Otis Tarda. The 'Oris of Aristotle, confounded by Pliny, and Alexander the 
Myndian, with otus. See Buffbn, Ois. ii. 5. It was found in Syria and Greece (Paus. 
Phoc.\ and in Thrace and Macedonia, according to Erotian, who says the word was 
written otij and cut/c. Foes. GEcon. Hipp, in v. The bustard is now, we find from Dr. 
Sibthorp, called 'Q.t); in the Morea and in Lemnos. 



* 

NATURAL HISTORY. 



261 



GALLING. 



Found in Cyprus. 

1. Meleagris Gallopavo 

2. Phasianus Gallus Tmeivog 

3. Tetrao Rufus tt^mm 



Names in ])arts of Greece. 

In Thessal. p-Ep-a. 
In Thessal. Id. 



Notes by the Editor. 

1. Meleagris Gallopavo. The turkey was entirely unknown to the ancients; America 
is its native country. — Beckmann, ii. 390. 

There is no mention made of the Guinea fowl, Numida Meleagris, by Dr. Sibthorp ; it 
was a bird well known to the ancients, and not uucommon, we may suppose, in the time 
of Pausanias, lib. x., who says that it was an offering in the mysteries of Isis, of persons in 
a moderate condition of life. The Greeks expressed the screaming of this bird by 
x«yx«^5iv. The description given by Clitus, the disciple of Aristotle (see Athen. lib. xiv. 
c. 71 • Schn.) was properly applied to the Guinea fowl by Paulmier, contrary to the expla- 
nation of Casaubon and Scaliger. Nor is there any mention of peacocks as seen now in 
Greece; these birds were first brought into Athens by Demus, son of Pyrilampes, who 
bred them in his volaries: See Gray on the Gorgias of Plato; they were more common 
in Greece after the time of Alexander, and we find them represented on the coins of 
Samos. At Aleppo, Russell says, peacocks are sometimes seen; but they are brought 
from other places. 

3. Tetrao Rufus. This is the species mentioned by Aristotle ; " de perdice Graeca vel 
rubra Aristoteles ubique loqui intelligendus est." Schn. ad lib. ix. c. 10. This bird is 
brought from Cephallonia to Zante, says Dr. Sibthorp, where it is kept in cages to sing, 
or rather call. (Quique refert jungens iterata vocabula perdix. Stat. S. lib. ii. E. 4.) The 
red-legged and grey partridge were both seen in the vicinity of Salon ica by Mr. Hawkins. 
The former frequented entirely the rocks and hills, the latter the cultivated grounds in the 
plains. The remark of the Greek naturalist concerning the partridge, which is seen sit- 
ting sometimes on branches of trees, is only applicable, says Schneider, to the red-legged 
species. (In Arist. H. A. lib. ix. c. 10.) With respect to the grey partridge, Belon thinks 
it probable, "qu'il n'y en a jamais eu dans la Grece," but it appears from Dr. Sibthorp 
that it is found in Thessaly. Forskal mentions its arrival at Constantinople, in Decem- 
ber and January. Venit inter summa frigora Decemb. et Januar. : interduin hie nidos 
ponit. According to iElian, the Greeks expressed the note or cry of the red-legged par- 
tridge by xa>oca/3i2Je(v, and of the grey kind, seen in Bceotia and Eubcea, by titv^'i^siv. 
H. A. iii. 35. See also Schn. in Athen. lib. iv. c. 9. But some have considered these 
words as denoting the different cries of the same bird (the red sort) in different parts of 
Greece. 



262 NATURAL HISTORY. 



Found in Cyprus. 

4. Tetrao Francolinus array W«$* 

5. Tetrao Alchata ^a^a\oq. 

6. Tet. Coturnix oprvyt. 



Names in parts of Greece. 



TTt^MOKOKKivoq in Graecia. 



In Thessaty. 

7. Phasianus Colchicus $ 

8. Tetrao Perdix ■■A$ua xaGetiret;. 

9. Tet. 7Ta^aXcq. 



PASSERES. 

Found in Cyprus. 

1. Columba (Enas. dom. mpto-re^ ypepa,. 

2. C. Rupestris 

3. C. Palumbus 

4. C. Turtur 

5. C. Risoria 

6. Alauda Cristata 

7. A. Calandra 

8. A. Spinoletta 



7T. aypia. 

<pd(T(ra. 
Tgvyouvi. 

UKO^aKoq. 
KaKav^pot. 



Names in parts of Greece. 

Id. 
Id. 
Id. 
Id. 

SsKOKToupig in Thessal. 
Id. in Thessal. 
Id. 

Id. in Graecia. 



Notes by the Editor. 

4. Tetrao Francolinus, perhaps the 'Arnxyug of ancient Greece: it was a bird esteemed 
by the Epicures; " Tu attagenem ructas; ego faba ventrem impleo." Hierony. in Epis. 
ad Asell. The bird was found in Bceotia (Acharn. 873.) not in Megaris, as Athenaeus 
states, lib. ix. c. 10. See Schw. in locum. We have seen it near Smyrna; and it is also 
common, Russell says, in the country round Aleppo. 

5. " The Greeks ^says Dr. Sibthorp) have given the name of Decoctoori to this bird 
from its note, as the French apply the word dixhuit to our lapwing." 

7. Phasianus Colchicus. The pheasant, according to Sonnini, flies over from Thessaly 
to some of the contiguous islands of the Archipelago. The bird was known at Athens 
in the time of Aristophanes (Nubes, 108.) and had probably been brought into Greece 
from Colchis, by the companions of Jason. See Beckmann deHis. Nat. Vet. 



6. Alauda Cristata, the xopvdaXkoi of the ancients. * 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



263 



Found in Cyprus. 

9. Turdus Musicus x/^Aor. 

10. T. Merula xorgvyoc. 

11. Emberiza Mili- 

aria 

12. E. Hortulana 



13. Fringilla Domes- 



0lU7T£\0 7r6V\l, 

(TTpov9or. 



tica 

14. F. Carduelis 

15. F. Petronia 

16. F. Linaria 

17. Muscicapa Atri- 
capilla 

18. M. Grisola 

19. Fringilla Flaveola <rxdp9oi\ic. 

20. Motacilla Lusci- 



xotXottpovQyj. 



ma 

21. M. Ficedula 

22. M. (Enanthe 

23. M. Alba 

24. M. Flava 

25. M. Trochilus 

26. M. Atricapilla 



dvjSovi. 



Names in parts of Greece. 

3eX.0KT0U()!C. 



Id. 
Id. 



Id. 
Id. 
Id. 



Id. 



Id. 

(rov(rov(pol$cc at Athos. 
Id. 



Notes by the Editor. 



12. Emberiza Hortulana, ajU.7rsAo7rouAi. The meaning of the Romaic word will be well 
explained by the following passage of Buffbn. He states that the bird is seen in the vine- 
yards of part of France, and adds, " ils ne touchent cependant point aux raisins, mais ils 
mangent les insectes qui courent sur des pampres, et sur les tiges de la vigne." 

13. Fringilla Domestica, the ancient word is still retained in Cyprus. 

14. F. Carduelis, perhaps the OpctvTr); of Aristotle, lib. viii. c. 5. — Schn. 

21. Motacilla Ficed. When the island of Cyprus was in the possession of the Venetians 
1000 or 1200 jars full of these birds were annually exported. They were sent in pots 
filled with vinegar and odoriferous plants. Buffon. The bird was seen in Egypt in Octo- 
ber, by Sonnini. 

24. Motacilla Flava. The avfloj of Aristotle, lib. viii. c. 5. — Schn. 



264 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



Found in Cyprus, 

27. Parus Ater 

28. Hirundo Urbica 

29. H. Rustica 

30. H. Apus 

31. H. Melba 

32. H. Pratincola 

33. Caprimulgus Eu- 

ropasus 



Id. 

TTtTpoxtXidovvi. 
Id. 



Names in parts of Greece. 

<TQ\}<ro(p<kl<x. 

Id. 

Id. 

Id. 

Id. 



<rTOCD7j9a<X. 
KOX.KilOKO'k'koi. 



KSKfOTFovXi in Thessal. 
a-TpuyaxTvoi in Thessal. 



Found in Greece. 

34. Alauda Campestris xarPuXoi^g. 

35. Turdus Cyanus 7rsr^oKOT^u(pog. 

36. Emberiza Nivalis 

37. E. Citrinella 

38. Motacilla Phceni- 
curus 

39. M. Rubicola 

40. Muscicapa Athe- 

niensis 

41. Hirundo Riparia 

Notes by the Editor. 
27. Parus Ater, perhaps the iie\xyxopvfos of Aristot. lib. ix. c. 15. 

31. Hirundo Mclba, 5rsTj50%£Xi8o'ovi. " Ces oiseaux se plaisent dans les montagnes, et 
nichent dans des trous des rochers." — Buffon. 

33. Caprimulgus Eur. from aiy/Sa and /3u£e»v, " sugere mammam." Aristotle says, 

35. Turdus Cyanus. The xuavoc of Aristotle, lib. ix. c. 18. Schn. Seen by Belon in 
Negropontc, Candia, Corfu, and Zante. 

3G. Emberiza Nivalis. The Romaic word means " White bird." " En hiver le male 
a la tete, le cou, les couvertures des ailes, et tout le dessous du corps, blanc comme de la 
neige." — BufFon. 

38. Mot. Phcenicurus, the /poivlxovpoc of Aristotle, lib. ix. c. 49. 

89. Mot. Rubicola, seen by Belon in Greece and Crete. The words of Linnaeus 
" caput et collum fere nigra," will explain the Romaic /xa/3p oxo AXa. 

41. Hirundo Riparia, seen by Belon on the banks of the Maritza, or Hebrus. 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



265 



Found in Thessaly. 



42. Alauda Trivialis 

43. Emberiza Schoe- 

niclus 

44. Fringilla Caelebs 

45. Parus Major 

46. P. Casruleus 
47. 

48. 



KOLT 



^vXa^ig. 



Id. 



<mu>og. 

T^OUTTl. 



MAMMALIA. 



Found in Cyprus. 

1. Vespertilio Muri- vutcrspiSa. 



nus 

2. Can is Familiaris 

3. C. Vulpes 

4. Felis Catus 

5. Lepus Timidus 

6. Erinaceus Euro- 

paeus 



trxvXog. 
aXurrov. 
yc&TTOg. 
Xayog. 

o-xuvrfyxoipog. 



Names in parts of Greece. 
Id. 

Id. 
Id. 
Id. 
Id. 
Id. 



Notes by the Editor. 

43. Emberiza Schoeniclus. The reed bunting is the <ryj>'mXos of Aristotle, lib. viii. 
c. 5. Schn. 

44. Fringilla Caelebs. The chaffinch, according to Buffon, is the 6po<mlgr)s of Aristotle, 
lib. viii. c. 3. 

4. Felis Catus. ya'ra in Du Cange, 239. and xarra, ib. App. 98. Kolttov;, ihconxw; 
nominari feles, ait Callimachi Schol. — Vossius de Idolol. iii. lib. 382. 

6. Erinaceus Eur. The first part of the Romaic word is a corruption of axav0a, 
Acanthias vulgaris nostras. Klein. The flesh of the hedge-hog is prescribed in Syria 
medicinally in some disorders. Russell's Aleppo, ii. 160. He says he saw it carrying 
grapes on its prickles, as well as mulberries; and, properly, illustrates a passage in 
iElian. The porcupine is not mentioned in this list by Dr. Sibthorp, but he saw a quill 
of that animal on the Asiatic coast opposite to Rhodes ; it was probably an inhabitant of 
that country. It is also found near Aleppo, and sometimes served up at the tables of the 
Franks. — Russell, ii. 159. 

M M 



266 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



Found in Cyprus. Names in parts of Greece. 



7. 


ous Aper sylv. 






Q 

o. 


ivius xvattus 


i 

TfOVTty.OC. 


la. 


9. 


M. Museums 


7T0VTIK0S [AlXpOC. 


T J 

Id. 


10. 


Capra (jazella 


aypeivc. 




11. 


li,quus Laballus 




V. 

a.Xoyov. 


lz. 


Jb. Asinus 


yoctoagog. 


la. 


13. 


Hi. IVlUlUS 


fjLCVXapl. 


ia. 


14. 


Camelus Drome- 


KotyfzXXog. 


Id. in Thessal. 




darius 




15. 


Bos Taurus 


/2ovot. 


ayiXada. in (jrrseCia, 


16 


Ovis Aries 


KOvd'eXXa. 


v r im Tit. find f7? rhC^rj-T-n 


17. 


Capra Hircus 


jpotyog M. otiyoi F. 




18. 


Sus Aper dora. 


%o^og vj^^og. 






Found in Greece. 




19. 


Canis Lupus 


Xvzog. 





Notes by the Editor. 

11. Equus Caballus, aVapoj. Many Hellenic words are still retained in Cyprus; and 
the ancient infinitive is occasionally used in common discourse. See Leake's Researches, 
p. 65. In no other part of the Levant do we find the word tWapoc, or a7T7rapoj, signifying 
"ahorse," except in Cyprus; oiXnyov both in common conversation and writing is always 
applied to that animal. We are not, however, to suppose, that aXoyov in this sense is of 
the recent date which many assign to it. It was applied as early as the time of Diogenes 
Laertius to beasts of burden ; for when he is speaking of the mules driven by Bias into the 
camp of Alyattes, he uses the word eLkoya. ; and Menage (lib. i. sec. 83.) remarks x« a.Koya. 
peculiariter cqui sive jumenta dicuntur. He then quotes Hesychius, xcc7trjTov, nctpafiXYipa. 
ikoyuiv. See the correction of this passage in Suicer T. Ecc. in v. uKoyov. 

12. Equus Asinus, yoiidocpoc, yavlapog, or ae'iSapoj. On consulting Du Cange we find the 
word explained in the following manner; uEilapoc, " Asinus, quod semper caedatur," 
p. 29., and reference is given to the authorities whence this etymology is taken. It is need- 
less to point out the absurdity of it. We have found no explanation so satisfactory as 
that which is given by Reinesius, Var. Lec. Epil. ad Lect. " KayS«) vr)<ro; 7rAj]<r/ov Kp>]T>)j, 
sv9« ixeyia-roi ovuypot ylvovrai." Suidas. Ta.ula.poc, therefore, in the abusive language of the 
mob of Constantinople, who applied it to one of their Emperors, means yau£o'0ev, E Gaudo 
allatus asinus. Procopius says in his anecdotes, that Justinian was called Tdvlapoc. Jortin 
Ecc. Hist. iv. 347- The origin of the Greek name of the pheasant, (puo-iavbc, as derived 
from Phasis, will occur to the reader. 



NATURAL HISTORY. 267 

Found in Greece. Names in parts of Greece. 



zU. U. Aureus 






21. rhoca Vitulina 


r 


la. in Ihessal. 


22. Vespertilio Rupes- 


■ VVKTSglOOl. 


tj ; rpi 1 

Id. m lnessal. 


tris 






z3. reus JLijnx 


?i<T<roq. 


Id. in Ihessal. 


z^, jc ens i^atus syiv. 


> / 


Id. in Thessal. 


z5. Mustela IVJartes 




Id. in Thessal. 


Oft TVT T nf™ 

zo. ivi. juutra 


0" J£ U A 7T T a |U. U . 


(3 to pa in Thessal. 


27. Ursus Arctos 


> ~ in 
UpKOVOOC. 




2b. U. Meles 


utrfzoc. 


Id. in Ihessal. 


29. Talpa Europasa 


7V(pA07T0VTlK0q. 


id. 


oU. olis ocropa dom. 


t / 

y p£(>oyov()ovvi. 


Id. in Ihessal. 


o 1 O T^ 

31. oorex Europasus 


nrovTixoq Tv\g yvjc. 




32. Lepus Cuniculus 


KcvveXr,. 


Id. in Thessal. 


33. Sciurus Glis 






34. Cervus Elaphus 




Xu(pov in Thessal 


35. C. Capreolus 




Id. in Thessal. 


36. Bos Bubalus 


jGo vfjCcXi. 





Notes by the Editor. 

21. Phoca Vitulina, the fwxrj of Aristotle and Oppian. — Pennant, B. Z. ii. 

26. Mustela Lutra, the IvuSpij of the ancient Greeks, as is evident from the Mosaic of 
Prseneste. " The Aara£ of Aristotle, lib. viii. c. 5. (says Pennant), is possibly a large 
variety of otter." B. Z. ii. One of the Romaic names of the otter, is very similar 

to the Polish Wydra. 

28. Ursus Meles. " The badger (says Buffon) was not known to the Greeks, and is 
not mentioned by Aristotle. Le blaireau n'a pas meme de nom dans la langue Grecque. 
This species of quadruped, an original native of the temperate climates of Europe, has 
never spread beyond Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Britain, Poland, Sweden." Bad- 
gers' skins are mentioned in the Pentateuch ; and it was not only seen in Thessaly and 
other parts of Greece by Dr. Sibthorp, but Mr. Hawkins found it in Crete, where it bears 
also the name a<7/3oj. As we now know to what animal this Greek word is applied, we 
may explain Du Cange in v. *A<rfio$, p. 13/- "Animal Fuchsio incognitum," he says. 

35. Cervus Capreolus, £apxa§<, corrupted from the ancient Sofx«j, the Caprea of Pliny. 

36. Bos Bubalus, " unknown to the Greeks and Romans; the bubalus of the ancients 
is a different animal." — Buffon. 

M M 2 



268 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



Found in Greece. 

37. Mus Terrestris 

38. Delphinus Del- hhq>m ryg yyg, 
phis 

In Thessaty. 

39. Mustela Putorius (SpopoKovvxdi. 

40. M. Nivalis fupQirfy. 

41. Sus Scrofa sylv. dypioyovgovvi. 

42. Delphinus Pho- hx<pig. 
csena 



AMPHIBIA REPTILIA. 



Found in Cyprus. 

1. Testudo Caretta %eAotii/)j ryg @x\o&<rarvig. 

2. Rana Temporaria (Bdrootx ^ 
S. R.Bufo Id. 

4. R. Rubeta Id. 

5. Lacerta Cordylus Kov$kutus, 

6. L. Stellio Id. 

7. L. Mauritanica 



8. L. Turcica 

9. L. Agilis 

10. L. Chameleon 

11. L. Chalcides 



XtxpoitXeoov. 



Found in Greece. 

12 Testudo Lutaria x&uvq tov TroTccpov. 
13. Testudo Grseca %. ry\g yrjg. 



Names in Greece. 
Id. 
Id. 
Id. 
Id. 



fAcXivovpce. 



"XiXuvvi tou vb^ov at Athos. 

Id. 



Notes by the Editor. 

13. Testudo Graeca. This is preferred as more wholesome than the T. Lutaria, the river 
tortoise, which is sometimes, though rarely, eaten by the Greeks. — Russell's Aleppo, 
ii. 22. 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



269 



Found in Greece. 



Names in Greece. 



14. T. Compressa 

15. Rana Esculenta 

16. Lacerta Aurea 

17. L. Uligenosa 

18. L. Delphica 

19. Rana Arborea 



Id. 

(3ot9(>ai%pg, 

X,CtX0CTT(X,Up0C. 
Id. 

<T7C0VT0V(>lT^a. 

In Thessaly. 



Id. 



AMPHIBIA SERPENTES. 



1. Coluber 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. — 

6. 



Kovcpv;. 



Found in Greece. 

7. Coluber Astroites aVr^oiVi?. 

8. C. Sagitta 

9. C. Tuphlitis 

10. C. Apareia 

11. C. Dracoulia 

12. C. Vittatus 

13. C. Undulatus 

14. C. Parnassi 

15. Anguis Elios yXtog. 



craiTTa. 

Tl)(pXtTig. 
0Z7T0C(>r}lX. 

SpctKouXio. 
XcogiTig. 



Notes by the Editor. 

3. o^evSpa. Belon mentions the ophis, ochendra, and tuphloti, lib. i. c> 18* In Lem- 
nos he found the cenchriti, laphiati, ochendra, sagittari, tuphlini, nerophidia* 



270 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



Found in Thessaly. 

16. Anguis Elios XevfyaxtoXia. 

17. ■ TTOvdixoXoyog. 

18. 

PISCES. 

Chondropterygii. 

1. Raia Torpedo y,a^yor^a. 

2. R. Ratis /3a-r/r. 

3. R. Oxyrinchus /Gar/?. 

4. Squalus Centrina •youpotmoipapo. 

5. Squalus Squatina %eA«p<. 

6. Squalus Catulus <ncvXo^xpo. 

7. S. Mustelus yotTTO^apo, 

8. Acipenser Sturio pcovpovva. 

Branchiostegi. 

9. Lophius Piscatorius jGaTpa^oiJ/apc. 

10. SjgnatllUS Hippo- aAo^o rrjg QctXcicr -(j^g. 

campus 

11. Muraena Anguilla «%«A<. 

iVb/es by the Editor. 

1. povdido-Tpa. in Forskal, from poulnxgeiv, torpere. See Du C. in v. 

2. In another part of the journals, called plvtx. 

4. The xevrplvri of the ancients. The Italian name " Pesce Porco" expresses the same 
meaning as the Romaic. 

6. Dog-fish. The squalus catulus, scomber pelamis, esox belone, percalabrax, and 
mullus barbatus, were seen by Sonnini off the coast of Egypt. 

8. GTupwt in another part of the journals. 

9. Frog-fish. The 0arpa;£oj and Rana of the ancients. — Pennant, B. Z. iii. 

10. Cavallo Marino of the Italians. 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



271 



Found in Thessaly. 



iz. 1YL uonger 




13. Xiphias Gladius 


5- / 


Jugulares. 




14. Uranoscopus Scaber 








i o. vjaQUs i\±enucius 


j^XciXog. 


i /. Jjiennius x/noiis 


/VI 


Tharacici. 




18. Coryphsena Novacula 




19. Gobius Niger 


yccfclog. 


20. G. Iozo 


yo/3i$i. 


21. Scorpasna Porcus 


<7K0f,7TtVCX. 


22. Zeus Faber 




23. Pleuronectes Solea 


yXwcrcx. 


24. P. Flesus 




25. P. Rhombus 


?ouf2o. 


26. Sparus Sargus 


<rapyog. 


27. S. Melanurus 


y,s\a.vovf.og. 


28. S. Smaris 





Notes by the Editor. 

12. yoyypo: of the ancients: this reading, says Schneider, is preferable to that of 
xoyypog. 

14. The same name is given in Forskal; it corresponds with the Lucerna of the 
Venetians. 

19. The xwfao; of Aristotle, lib. ii. c. 17. 

21. The same in Forskal ; it is the skorpit balluk, of the Turks. 

22. " Christ's Fish;" in Italian, the Doree is called Pesce San Pietro. 

23. Pleuronectes, S. yXunnrx, corrupted from the (3o'jy\wa<ro; of the ancients. 
26. a.Tv.aha.c.0'. in For-kal. 

28. e-pap); of Aristotle, lib. viii. c. 30. H. A. 



272 NATURAL HISTORY. 



Found in 


Thessaly. 


29. S. Meena 




30. S. Erythrinus 


epvQpivov. 


31. S. Boops 


(3oV7TOt. 


32. S. Cantharus 




33. S. Chromis 


^po^Joif/api 


34. S. Salpa 




35. S. Dentex 




36. S. Mormyrus 




37. Labrus Scarus 




38. L. Cretensis 




39. L. Anthias 




40. L. Iulis 


yXiog. 


41. L. Merula 


\0c7rlvct. 


42. L. Turdus 




43. Sciaena Umbra 


CTKlaiVX. 


44. S. Cirrhosa 


peXoKO'/rr;. 


45. Perca Labrax 


XajSpaic*. 


46. P. Marina 


7TBf>Krj. 


47. Scomber Pelamis 




48. Scomber Trachurus raotxovgi. 


49. Mullus Barbatus 




50. Trigla Cucullus 


7TET6lP0ty0l& 


51. T. Lucerna 





Notes by the Editor. 

29. o-epovka. in Forskal. 

30. In other parts of the journals, [xvpvotvi. 

32. Called by Forskal fiovwct. 

33. Called also xuKoyepa.. 
36. povp[j.ovp of Forskal. 
40. rjXiotyupo, also. 

47« !r«A«/*/S« in Forskal; TnjAajxuj of the ancients. 

48. Called also aTttvpfSi by Dr. S. and by Forskal. 

49. fiupfiovvi in Forskal; yHvenj-nj rp/yArj of Eratosthenes, lib. vii. ; Athenae. c. 21. 

50. In another part, called ^eX^iovo^/stpt ; xoxxvf- of the ancients. 

51. Gallina of the Marseillois. 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



273 





41 7 * 7 

Abauminales. 




52. 


Silurus Glanis 


yXocvi. 


53. 


Esox Belone 




54. 


Esox Sphyrsena 


<r(pigm. 


55. 


Atherina Hepsetus 




56. 


Mugil Cephalus 




57. Clupea Alosa 


9(>{<r<ra. 


58. 


C. Encrasicolus 




59. 


Cyprinus Carpio 





August 18. — Went to Ourangick, which is about an hour's distance 
from Salonica. The environs appeared more pleasant than the gene- 
ral scenery of Greece, and presented a cultivated corn country rising 
into small hills ; the vales were watered by rivulets running through 
beds of argillaceous slate, and were planted with cotton and melon 
grounds. At this place are the different villas of the European 
merchants. From the hill above Ourangick, the view extended over 
a large tract of country, part of the ancient Macedonia ; on one side 
was a plain, with the lakes of Yabasil and Beshik Seir ; beyond the 
gulf of Salonica, was Olympus on the opposite coast of Thessaly. 

Notes by the Editor. 

54. Caught near Smyrna and Mytilene. — Belon, p. 5. 

55. Goumish-balluk of the Turks. 

56. Called Kephal-balluk by the Turks. 
57- (rapUwa in Forskal. 

58. kyxpcttrlxoXoi, anchoise, ut placet doctos, Insubrium et MaSsiliensium. Cas. ad 
Ath. lib. vii. p. 301. 

59. The carp is called in iEtolia, says Belon, Cyprinus ; and Gyllius remarks, that the 
word is used by some of the Greeks. Beckmann, iii. 145. Norden saw it caught near 
Assouan in Egypt. The Turks call it Sassan-balluk. 

N N 



274 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



August 20. — Early in the morning we set out for Courtiatch, a 
low wooded mountain, about two hours distant from Ourangick. We 
left our horses at a village at the foot of it and walked to the summit. 
Courtiatch appeared to me a hill after the high mountains we had 
lately seen in Greece. We observed ice prepared in pits much 
below the summit, covered with dead leaves.* 

23. — Set out on an excursion to a large lake called Beshik Seir 
Gul by the Turks, and Robios by the Greeks, twelve hours distant 
from Salonica. After riding two hours through a cultivated corn 
country, we descended into a low plain covered with marsh plants ; 
here and there cultivated with spots of cotton and sesamum, mixed 
with melon beds. We dined in a thick grove of oaks about three 
hours distant from Salonica. On leaving the grove we came soon to 
the Lake Yabasil ; rode by the side of it for two hours, then over a 
tract of corn land to the head of Beshik Seir Gul ; we continued 
our journey four hours by the side of the lake ; low mountains 
covered with wood were on the left. We arrived late in the evening 
at Beshik Seir, at the house of Osman Moolah, a Turk, who kept a 
coffee-shop. 

24, — Rose in the morning early to fish. The Lake Beshik Seir 
Gulf- is of very considerable extent; it is five hours in length and 
one in breadth, and twelve in circumference, and has several villages 
on its banks. The peasants were busily employed in the harvest, and 
we with difficulty procured horses to draw a much rent and torn 
drag-net. The names of seventeen different sorts of fish were obtained 
from Osman ; of these we caught the first eleven. 

1. Muraena Anguilla 'A%£A<. 

2. Esox Lucius ToZ^va. 



* Ancient writers (says Beckmann, 3d vol. H. I.) mention the custom of preserving 
snow in pits with branches of trees over it. Athen. Deip. iii. Plutarch also, in Sympos. 
vi. 2., speaks of chaff, and unfulled or coarse cloth as employed for this purpose. 

f This is the Lake Bolbe, l£iV<v lj 9«A«o-cr«v, Thucy. iv. 103. Belon, in going from 
Siderocapsa to Cavalla, passed the stream which runs from Beshik towards the sea. 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



275 



3. Perca Fluviatilis 




4. Cyprinus Carpio 


1 gipuai. 


5. Cyprinus Platanus 


T-T1. ' 

llAOlTCtVZl. 


6. Cyprinus Alburnus 




7. Cyprinus 




8. Cyprinus Orfus 


la. 


C/. VyVlJl. JLuUcllln 




iu. i^yui. i-viiiiuLUo 




ii. jjiennius j_/acusiiis 


1 ccptot. 


12. Silurus G-lanis 


1 ouAta.vo$. 


lo. 


i\/r . '!. 


14. 




15. 




16. 


KetpccXog, 


17. 





25. — Left Beshik Seir three hours before day; and dined on the 
banks of the Yabasil. Different grallae frequent this lake in winter ; 
some yet remained; the lap-wing, the red-shank, the large grey 
heron and sea swallow flew along the water. We shot one which 
I took to be the Sterna nsevia of Linnaeus, and a beautiful species of 
a small white heron. We killed also a large black hawk, probably 
the moor buzzard. We observed two sorts of vulture soaring high 
above us, and a large falcon, that I take to be the bald buzzard. 



* Some of these fishes are mentioned by Belon as found in the Lake Beshik ; " perchi, 
plesti, platanes, lipares, turnes, grivadi, schella, schurnucca, posu6taria } cheronia, claria, 
gianos." p. 52. 



N N 2 



276 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



ON THE 

VARIOUS MODES OF FISHING PRACTISED BY THE MODERN GREEKS. 

[BY THE EDITOR.] 

The modern Greeks retain with little variation some of the modes 
adopted by the ancient inhabitants of their country in catching 
different kinds of fish. The Scarus* we are told, was taken by the 
Linozostis, and Dr. Sibthorp informs us that Mercurialis annua is 
now used by the fishermen off the coast of Cyprus for the purpose 
of catching the Labrus Scarus. The plant is called (fxu$%o^to and 
(ntotgo\cix a v°v> and thrown in quantity among the rocks. 

The Kuluriotes, Albanian inhabitants of Salamis, Mr. Hawkins 
observes, are much employed in the summer months with the fishing 
of Octopodia, which they take with spears affixed to poles 36 feet in 
length, the surface of the water being previously smoothed with -foil. 
They also practise a singular method of catching the rock fish by 
poisoning or intoxicating them. For this purpose they make use of 
(pxofAo or Tree Euphorbia chopped and macerated, and then pushed 
under the large stones or holes and caverns where these fishes lie. 
After a few minutes they rise to the surface of the water, and are 
either enclosed in small nets or are even taken by the hand. Mr. H. 
also points out a passage in Aristotle's H. An. L viii. 20., where mention 
is made of the use of (pXopog or wXapos in catching fish. Schneider in 
his commentary refers to iElian, who speaks of the leaves and seeds 



* Sec Bclon, lib. i. c. 8. on the mode of catching the Scarus off the coast of Crete. 

f The sponge gatherers also were observed by Dr. Sibthorp to throw oil upon the sea; 
he saw them in their boats off the Thracian Chersonesus. Mare commotum, si asperga- 
tur oleo, quiescit, ut docemur ab Aristotele et Plutarcho. Casaub. in Athen. p. 348.; add 
also Pliny, Mare omne oleo tranquillatur. Allatius mentions a dissertation of M. Psellus, 
entitled, ?i«T» rtfi 0stAa<r<r>)j hXu'tw xuTctpfixtvojj.hr}; ylveTCti x«T«f«vet« xai ycthrjvrj. 



V 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



277 



of the plant as being used for the same purpose, jca'pua tyxopov; where 
the word xugvu, Mr. H. observes, applies very well to the seeds of 
the tree Euphorbia. 

Dioscorides* lib. iv. c. 166. mentions seven different species of 
Tithymalus used to destroy fish, and at the present day the fishermen 
on the coast of Elis throw into the water the root of Tithymal which 
intoxicates the fish ; taken in this manner, they become putrid, 
although salt is applied to them. (Pouqueville.) This plant is 
probably the Euphorbia Characias-f, which according to Dr. Sibthorp 
is employed for the same purpose, and is now called rMfiosXo, as well 
as (pXopoc. The latter name is also given to Verbascum sinuatum, 
which is used at Constantinople and Zante to catch different kinds 
of fish. The adjective fiXopopsvo is found in a Romaic poem quoted 

by Du Cange£, KivyrfAiv nq to TteXayoq crav (pXopopevo ij^p" " and 

he came up on the sea like an intoxicated fish." Conium maculatum 
is also used by the fishermen in some parts of Greece, (Sibthorp,) 
and the Octopodia are driven from their holes by the pounded root 
of y.vzXocf/JSa, Cyclamen persicum. (id.) Oppian in his AX. iv. 659., 
mentions the use of x.vxXa.y.ivov. § The trout in one of the streams of 
Laconia are caught, Dr. Sibthorp says, with Cocculus Indicus ; which 
is called tyu^ofioTctvi and is sold in the bazar of Tripolizza. He has 
also observed that the fish caught in these various manners soon 

o 

become putrid. H £ix ruv (poigfAUKcov Qypx to&%v f/Av ol,(,ei not,] XafA.l3u.vei 
Qccoitog rov ix@vv, xftguTov <5e rrotei xoti (pavXov. || Plutarch, Conjug. Praec. 



* See his remark 7isp\ HXu.-vuq>ukkov. 

f Euphorbia Characias, is ^upaxla.; of Diosc. ; and Tiflu'jU,«Aoj of Hippoc. Verbascum 
sinuatum is pAo^oj apprjv of Diosc. — Sprengel. 
% See Du Cange in v. 'Evyciiveiv. 

§ Pliny speaks of a species of Cyclamen employed to kill fish (the plant was called 
J^fibofljjpof,), lib. xxv. c. 9. and of a species of aristolochia, used by the fishermen of Cam- 
pania for the same purpose. Lib. xxv. c. 8. 

|| In the Red Sea the Symm El horat, venerium piscium, placed by Forskal among the 
Plantae indeterminatse, is used ; the fishes stupefied by it, rise up, and float upon the 
water. 



278 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



The night-fishing of the modern Greeks is similar to that of the 
ancients. Branches of pine, or pieces of wood steeped in pitch and 
lighted, or horn-lanterns with lamps in them were placed at the 
extremity of a boat to attract the fish. A fisherman in one of the 
old comedies speaks of xsgarivov te ^mrtpaaov Xv^vou a-eXag. 

The night-fishing is also mentioned by Plato, (Sophist.) and there 
are some verses in Oppian (ax. 1. ult.) on the same subject. At this 
day the inhabitants of Amorgos break pieces of the Cyprus leaved 
cedar (cedrus folio cupressi major, Tournef. Letter vi.), and lay it 
over the stern of the boat at night and burn it ; the fishes drawn by 
the light are struck with a trident. 

Mr. Stanhope informs us, that there are four modes of fishing 
employed by the modern Greeks; 1. by beating the water and driving 
the fish within the nets ; 2. by fire ; this is lighted during the night 
upon a vessel, and is called -7re^(pa.veog ; the fish assemble round it ; 
3. by means of oil which is poured upon the sea to render it more 
calm ; the fishermen are thus enabled to discern the fish and to spear 
them ; 4. by means of ipxopog, great Tithymal ; the water is dammed 
up, and some of the herb thrown in; the fish become intoxicated and 
float on the surface, and are easily taken by the hand. For want of 
phlomos, aconitum is used for the same purpose. 



EXTRACTS FROM DR. SIBTHORFS JOURNALS. 

Sept. 16. — We rowed out from the coast of the Thracian Chersonesus 
to some small boats ; the men in them were employed in searching for 
sponges ; each of the boats had two men at least, one rowed, the 
other was furnished with an oil cruet and a sharp prong ; with the 
one he smoothed the surface of the water to render the objects at the 
bottom more visible, with the other he reached the sponge, and took 
it from the rock. Most of the boats had made large captures, and 



REMARKS EXTRACTED FROM DR. SIBTHORP'S JOURNALS. 279 

were going on to Constantinople. The sponge, when dry, was sold at 
three piastres the oke. On looking among the sponges I observed 
some marine productions ; of these the most common was a species 
of Star fish with five echinated radii ; the prickles easily rubbed off, 
and the whole animal was very fragile : our sailors called it Stavros. 
Besides these were a marine worm, crxuXyita, rm Qaxdc-e-vis ; a sea-louse, 
4%s! rov lbagi'ov ; four sorts of small crabs, one very hairy, za.ficvpoy.dvr, a 
sort of shrimp, xu^a, a third sort called r^ze, a fourth, very small, 
the name of which I could not learn. The Thracian coast afforded a 
few shells ; the Greek limpet, perforated at the apex, called 7T£tuXi7x, 
the periwinkle xoyylxi, the esculent cockle, (3o\(3oxyv<x, and the mactra 
stultorum, «^jQ«Ja. The sponge gatherers had taken two sorts of 
fish with their spears, p&ctvovp and tru^yo ; and our own boatmen 
added three more to my list, 7rep««, <rxc«go, and <rxdQa.(>i ; the latter is a 
scarce fish. 

LEMNOS. 

The water under the rock was extremely clear and offered to the 
view a number of marine productions. I saw distinctly several 
species of Medusa rolling themselves out with a flower-like ap- 
pearance, and a very pretty Tubularia of a green colour, which 
looked like an Opuntia, or articulated Cactus was fixed by its base 
to some sponges. The Alva pavonia was very common, and the 
little red Coralline covered the surface of the rock that was un- 
der the water, while the upper surface exposed to the air was 
encrusted with Barnacles, and two or three sorts of vermicular 
Serpulse. 1 saw the Alcedo Ispida flying along the coast ; this then 
is a marine as well as a river bird. During our absence on shore, 
our sailors had caught a great quantity of fish, particularly of the sea 
perch*, one of the best flavoured fish of the Archipelago ; they had 
also taken some beautiful species of Labri, the Iulis called "HA/cr, 



* Percse marinae commendatur a Galeno. Vide Voss, de Idolo. lib. iv. 506. 



280 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



another species nearly equal in beauty, the labrus tri-maculatus of 
Pennant, with a great number of 

The Mousselim of Lemnos being informed that the celebrated 
Lemnian earth was one of the objects of our inquiries, ordered a 
number of the rolls or seals of that earth to be presented to us; he 
told us, that the pit whence this earth was taken, was opened only 
on the 16th day of August; that it was in great repute in curing 
certain fevers ; and that the earth only which was dug out before the 
rising of the sun was considered as possessing any medical efficacy. 
Expressing a wish to see the place where the earth was dug, he 
granted us his permission. 

We were invited to walk in his garden ; a large square piece of 
ground enclosed by four walls ; it was well planted with fruit trees 
and culinary herbs. The orange trees, notwithstanding the warm 
climate of Lemnos, were placed under artificial shelter. Quinces 
and Pomegranates formed a principal portion of the fruit trees ; the 
former is a favourite tree with the Turks; and they prepare a number 
of excellent dishes from its fruit. 

No shores of the Levant are more productive of fish than those 
of Lemnos, and we found a great variety which our servants had 
purchased for dinner. Besides the red-mullet, (3ccgf2ouvt, the grey 
mullet KefiuXog, there were several excellent species of Spams ; as 
the Dentex, crway^a, the Salpa, <ra^7ra, the Melanurus, peXccvovgc, the 
Sargus, o-a^oV, the Scorpion fish, (nco^i'va, the Sciasna umbra, a sort of 
Labrus, and the shad, o-Tav^lh ; our cabin boys had caught, angling, 
as the vessel lay in port, some little fishes, as the S. Mormyrus ^o^ci^c, 
a sort of Blenny t£>aou£a, and a small species of Gobius. 

Sept. 21. — At four in the afternoon the horses arrived. In our way 
to Therm ia we met with several villagers with their asses laden with 
fruit. The wine of Lemnos is cheap, but rough, and badly made. 
We observed a custom that must be very prejudicial to the vine, that 
of turning the goats and sheep into the vineyards as soon as the 
grapes are gathered : the dry season, which this year had burnt up 



REMARKS EXTRACTED FROM DR. SIBTHORP'S JOURNALS. 281 

the vegetation, might perhaps have induced them to try the experi- 
ment. I never saw a greater diversity of melons than in the villa of 
the Mousselim ; they were suspended in lines along the roof of the 
chamber where we slept. 

Sept. 22. — In the morning we walked up the mountain of St. 
Elias, the highest in the island ; from the summit we commanded an 
extensive view of the country. Between the hills there was a large 
proportion of flat ground fit for cultivation, but the isle of Lemnos 
was visibly on the decline ; its towns had decreased in number, and 
those remaining were daily going to a state of decay. Of the seventy- 
five towns which it contained in the time of Belon, scarcely half the 
number can be found. The residence of the Turks, the exaction of 
the new charatch, without any additional advantages from manufac- 
tures or commerce, are the evident causes of this decay. W e tra- 
versed the plain of Livado-chorio, and slept at the house of the 
Soubashi of Baros, the miserable remains of a decayed village con- 
sisting of about fifteen houses ; the inhabitants supported themselves 
from the flocks of goats and sheep, which scarcely enabled them to 
pay the charatch. The latter are a small hornless breed, frequently 
black, and produce a very coarse wool ; a sheep was not estimated at 
more than sixty paras or two piastres ; the horse which I rode was 
valued at eighteen piastres. 

Sept. 23. — We set out at eight o'clock, and in half an hour arrived 
at the place where the Lemnian earth was dug from a small pit on a 
rising ground about a mile from the village. The whole had been 
filled up, but we observed some of the earth, which was a pale- 
coloured clay ; before it receives the seal, the sand by means of water 
is filtered from it ; it is then formed into figures and some pieces of 
cylindrical form. We had here an instance how superstition and 
ceremony had ennobled a thing of little or no value ; it could have 
no real medicinal virtue ; and in fevers, where the stomach is 
weakened, it could add only an additional burden to the peccant 
matter that oppressed it. We came back to Baros, more disappointed 
than satisfied at what we had seem We returned by the same 

o o 



282 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



route of Livado-chorio and Thermia to Lemnos ; the distance from 
which to the place where the earth is dug is about twelve miles or four 
hours. Upon our arrival, we were informed that the Mousselim 
was gone to inspect a vessel building in the bay ; we went in our 
boat to return him thanks for the civilities which he had shewn us. 
The ship he was building was one of 50 guns : it had been on the 
stocks about six weeks ; and he said the whole would be complete in 
six months. It was of Balanida oak, brought from Romelia, and was 
new and unseasoned. From this cause and other defects, the Turkish 
ships last but a few years. He would not suffer us to pay for our 
horses ; he said, he was happy in the opportunity of shewing a little 
civility to foreigners, and did not doubt that he should receive the 
same if he was in our situation. 

EUBCEA. 

Oct. 13. — We observed in the market of Egripo, the ripe fruit of 
the Sorbns domestica, called here auyu^oc and ou/3e«n ; it is one of 
those fruits which must be eaten in a state of decay, like the medlar, 
with which it agrees in flavour. A great number of wasps were 
collected round the fruit stalks, called Ztpwytiec, without doubt, the 
£<pi}| of the ancients. We picked up several shells on the coast, the 
Gaideropus, which is here called a^|/Jw, different species of Murex 
and Buccinum, Turbo, and the Area Nose, and some species of Voluta. 
The Brain stone and some Madrepores were thrown upon the beach 
with a prodigious number of Medusae. We had formerly collected 
here some crystals of magnetical iron ore ; at present we searched in 
vain without discovering the least traces of it. 

Feb. 26, 1795. — We embarked at Zante, and in less than four 
hburs anchored in the harbour of Pyrgo ; on the coast of the ancient 
El is. We proceeded from our boat along a sandy beach covered 
with the shells of the Area glycymeris and Cardium edule, mixed 
with the spoils of other testacea. About an hour's distance from the 



REMARKS EXTRACTED FROM DR. SIBTHORP'S JOURNALS. 283 



landing place approaching the convent we were ferried over a narrow 
stream, fringed with Agnus castus, into a garden belonging to the 
convent. A number of vernal flowers now blossomed on its banks ; 
the garden Anemone was crimsoned with an extraordinary glow of 
colouring. The soil which was a sandy loam was further enlivened 
with the Ixia, the grass-leaved Iris, and the enamel blue of a species 
of Speedwell not noticed by the Swedish naturalist. 

The Klcra-x of the Ancients. 

The lower regions of the Arcadian mountains are covered with 
oaks, among which are frequently heard the hoarse screams of the 
Jay, still called Wicrcre. CamUs in his translation of Aristotle has 
wrongly supposed that the K/<r<r« was our magpie. These oaks 
produced the true misletoe of the ancients, that is the Loranthus 
Europseus, which is still called o'|oV*, and from which bird-lime is 
prepared. Our misletoe grows also in Greece, but is not to be 
found on the oak but on the silver fir, and abounds on Parnassus, 
where it is not called ogog but yAxxa, and is gathered by the herds- 
men as food for the labouring oxen. The mountains of Arcadia 
supply a number of Alpine rivulets abounding in trout, called 
ireo-TeoXa. Advancing near to Olono, the ancient Cyllene, we observed 
the Sturnus Cinclus flying along the rocky sides of these rivulets ; 
perhaps this is the " White Blackbird," said by Aristotle H. A. 
lib. ix. to be found in that region. 

The Murex or xctX-xy of the Ancients. 

At Hermione, once famous for its purple, and where that dye 
was particularly prepared, I had the good fortune to stumble over a 
vast pile of those shells, whose fish or animals had been employed 
for that purpose. I brought away with me a box of these exuviae -f •, 



* Viscum album is called in Laconia l^lodpvg. — Sibthorp. 

f " They are still denominated Porphyri ; the species is Murex Trunculus of Linnaeus 
figured by Fabius Columna, under the name of Purpura nostras violacea." From Sir 

oo 2 



284 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



which will establish beyond doubt, what the shell was, employed by 
the ancients for that purpose. 

The Truffles of Laconia. 

April 24th. — At Nisi, in the ancient Laconia, a basket of Truffles 
was brought in ; my host distinguished three sorts, xuXctpfioKtc-ta, 
a-Ta^vja-ia, and (rvKa.\i<ria, ; the man who brought them, confirmed to 
me the account, that he had found them with a kind of virga 
divinatoria, and that by the sound of the earth from the touch of 
the rod, he had made this collection. I am sorry that circumstances 
did not admit of my going to this truffle hunt. I was assured that 
the Truffle * hound was unknown ; and that the quantity brought to 
market is all collected in the manner he described to me. 

CYPRUS. 

The Ferula^ or vufal of Prometheus. 

Near the convent of the Holy Cross I observed the golden 
Henbane in abundance : and when we had descended, a peasant 
brought me a pumpkin with water ; it was corked with a bush of 
Poterium Spinosum, which served both as a coverlid and a strainer, 
and prevented the entrance of flies and other insects. It preserves 
in most of the Greek islands its ancient name XtoiQui. The stools 
on which we sate were made of the Ferula Grseca ; the stems cut 
into slips and placed crossways were nailed together. This is one of 
the most important plants of the island in respect to its economical 
uses. The stalks furnish the poorer Cyprian with a great part of his 



James Smith. At the taking of Susa by Alexander a great quantity of Hermionc purple 
was found there. Plut. in Alex. The fishery of the Murex on the coast of Laconia also 
is mentioned by Pliny, lib. ix. and Pausan. in Lacon. " Blue and purple from the isles 
of Elisha," arc referred to by the Prophet Ezck. xxvii. 7« The last words, according to 
Bochart, designating the Peloponnesus. 

* A corruption of the ancient Tlvov may be traced in the Itvov of the modern Greek.*, 
i he name of the Lycopcrdon Tuber; vova. t« xx) iVra ovoii.a.typeva., Aetius. Sec Du C. 
ii.86. 



REMARKS EXTRACTED FROM DR. SIBTHORFS JOURNALS. 



285 



household furniture, and the pith is* used instead of tinder, for con- 
veying fire from one place to another. It is now called mfjQqmj the 
ancient name somewhat corrupted. 

Kcvqi of Cyprus. — An veterum AspisPf 

April 17. — We left the Salines for Famagousta. The reapers 
were busy in the harvest, and the tinkling of the bells fixed to their 
sides expressed their fears of the terrible Kovfii. A monk of Fama- 
gousta has the reputation of preventing the fatal effects of the 
venom of this serpent by incantation ; and from the credulity of the 
people had gained a sort of universal credit through the island. 
We were frequently shewn as precious stones compositions fabricated 
by artful Jews ; these were said to be taken out of the head of the 
Kov£; ; and were worn as amulets to protect the wearers from the 
bite of venomous animals. ^ 



* " Cet usage est de la premiere antiquite, et peut servir a expliquer un endroit d'Hesi- 
ode, qui parlant du feu que Promethee vola dans le del, dil, qu'il Pemporla dans une 
Ferule, kv xoUm vxp^-xi. E. xca H. 52. Suivant les apparences, Promethee se servit de 
moelle dc Ferule au lieu de meche, et apprit aux horames a conserver le feu dans les tiges 
de cette plante." Tournefort, Lett. vi. The following remark of Proclus on Hesiod (24 
Ed. Heins.) may be added, "Ecrrt [xev 7rvpb;ovrcu: q>v\a.x.Tixo; 6 N«p0i)£, ^Vjave^wv fxixKctxoTrjTa, 
eltra), xtx) TpeQeiV ro 7rvp, xeu p; diroo- Bevvvvui IvvoL^vriv. — Ed. 

f This is the Quasre of Forskal. " The most dangerous of the serpents in Cyprus (says 
Drummond, who travelled in 1745,) is the asp, the venom of which is said to be very deadly. 
In order to frighten away these and other kinds of poisonous reptiles, the reapers, who 
are obliged to wear boots, always fix bells to their sickles." A word, resembling Koupj, 
and applied to a species of serpent, is found in iElian,; and in Hesychius, xaxplct;. The 
latter seems to consider it improperly as the same with ru^x/a?. Hasselquist (p. 431.) de- 
scribes a serpent called by the Greeks of Cyprus, "Ao-irix; this may be the Kou<pj, and the 
author of the work De Mir. Aus. speaks of a species of serpent in Cyprus, b Trjv d6vafj.iv 
Ojxola.1/ e%ei tjj Iv A\yunrw u<r7r'3i. — Ed. 

% The superstition of the ancient Greeks attributed a similar efficacy to the Lapis 
ophites; fyplu liwxu 7teptx7rToiJ,ivoc, says Dioscorides. 'Evmpto-T. Lib. xi. c. 141. 



286 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



Singular custom of making an offering of bread to the fish Melanuros. 

May 2. — We weighed anchor in the port of Cephalonia ; as our 
sailors rowed by Cape Capro, they made libations of bread, using 
the following words ; Ftcctrov, YLu-no Kettyo, |«i rvjv, KaVo, K.o&7r(iem crov, 
ncti pie tcc, Ka7ro Ku(3^o } ttovXccctov. Net Kccftgc, vec tconrgevot, va rd f TLoctto 
aa,7T^07rovXa.' (pure to 7r«£^*«Jj, screTg, tyx&fu MsKavou^ia. " Health, Cape 

Capro to your wife, to your children ; to you Cape Capro, to your 
wife, (making the first libation). To your children, (making a 
second). You fish, Melanouros, eat the cake (making a third)." 
This is probably the relic of some ancient custom*; the passage by 
the rock was a dangerous navigation, and the fish Melanouros abounds 
here, -f • 

The liver of the Scarus. 

" The liver of the Scarus was not forgotten in the entertainments 
of the Zantiotes ; the flavour and delicacy of it are mentioned in the 
following Romaic couplet. 

Lxupo fjte AtVBj v^y\ro pie Tpcove, 

<Pocye to ckcoto piou, va idrjg to (pocyyro piov. 

" They call me scarus ; they eat me roasted ; taste my liver that 
you may see what my flavour is. X 



* This extract from Sibthorp's journal reminds us of a passage in Pliny, lib. xxxii. c. 2. 
" In Stabiano Campanias ad Herculis petram, Melanuri in mari panem abjectum rapiunt." 

f Aldrovande croit, que e'est ce memepoisson qu'on appelle a Rome, ochiata, en Sicile, 
ochiada, a Venice, ochia. — Memoires de l'lnstit. 1805. 

% The roasted Scarus was anciently esteemed, x«t vxctpov Iv TtxpaXcp K«p^rjSov» tov psyctv 
owt« UXuvag. Archestrat. in Athen. lib. vii., and the liver of it was particularly commended. 
LJnde in Vitellii patina, apud Tranquillum legimus, fuisse Scarorum jecinora. Imo Mar- 
tialis, visceribus solum reservatis, carnem coquo reddi jubet. Vossi. de Idolo. lib. iv. 505. 
The fish was one of those, according to Epicharmus, twv ooSe to <rxoop Sepurov ex(3a\eiv 6soij. 
We give from Salmasius (Plin. Exer. p. 743.), the following explanation of o-xuto, or 
gux.wtqv. Graecia infima (toxwtov pro jecore dixit, quum antiqua jecur anseris aut porculi 
ficis pasti in deliciis haberet, et sic vocaret ; inde recentiores ctuxwtov, quodlibet jecur appel- 
larunt, et eos imitati Latini Jicatum. 



REMARKS EXTRACTED FROM DR. SIBTHORP'S JOURNALS. 



287 



Remarks on some of the Greek Serpents. 

At Naxia, a species of serpent was killed whose eyes were 
singularly small ; the Greeks called it Tuphlites, from Tv<pXog ; this 
we were told was a species highly venomous, and that the bite would 
prove fatal in a few hours. At Patmos, two species were killed ; 
one having the back waved with black on a greyish ground, with a 
flattened head, appeared to have all the marks of a species highly 
venomous. The islanders called it o<pl$i. Another which from its 
long slender form I judged to be perfectly harmless, they called 
S«/tt« or arrow, from the manner in which it shoots or darts itself. 
We were told of a third species, called Tro^coyJxoyog^ this was represented 
to us as of enormous size. The Aparea is a large serpent ; another 
species which has the head erected, and is called Kost^vXcc^t, is very 
venomous. 

July 22. — On my return from the Piragus I found a peasant 
waiting for me with different species of serpents ; one small but 
beautifully waved with red lines ; this he called Astroites ; another, 
a very minute sort, a species of Anguis, called Helios ; of the last 
the bite was said to be exceedingly venomous. Its appearance was 
that of the garden worm ; I should, notwithstanding the report, sup- 
pose it to be innocent. 



( 288 ) 



ON THE 

OLIVES AND VINES OF ZANTE; 

ON THE 

CORN CULTIVATED IN THAT ISLAND, AND PARTS OF THE ANCIENT BGEOTIA; 
THE PRODUCE OF CORN IN SOME DISTRICTS OF GREECE. 

[FROM THE PAPERS OF THE LATE DR. SIBTHORP, AND FROM SOME REMARKS 
COMMUNICATED BY MR. HAWKINS.] 

Olea Europaea, the olive of Zante, is called Ivtottix, or natural, the 
first introduced into this country. It arrives at a large size, and 
produces a great quantity of oil, one hundred okes from a tree. The 
wood of this variety is also the most durable, and is used for many 
purposes. The fruit is oval and large, and yields much clear oil. 

The second sort, Kopovxxi, was introduced from Coron in the Morea 
into Zante, at the beginning of the eighteenth century ; it produces a 
large quantity of fruit, but the tree is small ; the leaves are more atte- 
nuated at the point, the wood more fragile, the fruit smaller, the oil 
coarser, than that of the IvTomu. These two sorts are the most cul- 
tivated ; part of the oil is consumed in the island, the remainder is 
exported. 

A third sort, jcapu^oX/a, is so called from the large fruit which it 
produces resembling a walnut ; it was introduced from Salona. The 
tree is small, the wood brittle, the leaves large and white. This 
variety is cultivated for the table, both ripe and green. To preserve 
them green and render them less bitter, the olives are taken and put 
unripe into a lye of lime-ashes and water, and being steeped for some 
hours, they are then taken out and washed in water. This washing 
is repeated by a change of the water, twice a-day for a week ; they 
are then put into a pickle made of salt and water, flavoured with 



OLIVES, VINES, AND CORN OF PARTS OF GREECE. 



289 



the tops of fennel. * To preserve them ripe, they are salted, a layer 
of salt being put between a layer of olives. Another way of preserv- 
ing them is with oil and vinegar ; a third in syrup or must, called 
petmez ; the must is the juice of the grape boiled before fermentation 
to the consistence of a syrup ; or lastly, simply in salt and water, the 
usual method adopted by the peasants. TJie green olives dipped in 
salt and water, are called ^oXv^dhg. -f 

A fourth sort is T^ayoXta, or the goat olive; this produces very 
hard fruit, and is little cultivated. 

A fifth sort lTpa/2oA(a (crooked) is so called from the fruit, which is 
long, having the point a little curved. It ripens the latest, and re- 
mains longest on the tree ; is gathered when quite ripe, and preserved 
as one of the former. 

A sixth sort T&fttoMvd is termed so from the resemblance of the 
olive to a lemon, having a nipple-shaped fruit, of the size of a wal- 
nut. It is indeed the largest, but is little cultivated, except by some 
rich proprietors who have a few trees of it. The olive is preserved 
green. 

A seventh sort derives its name from the resemblance of the fruit 
to a hazel-nut, in shape ; the skin is thin, and the pulp rich ; but 
little cultivated. 

An eighth sort is ^oQcvock;, from Mothone in the Morea, whence it 
was first introduced. The fruit is either pressed into oil, or preserved 
ripe. 

Another sort is puTovXtoi, from uipa. blood, because the fruit, when 
perfectly ripe, being squeezed, gives a red colour to the hands. This 
is pressed into oil or preserved. 



* We find mention in the Geoponica, ii. 631. of the jxctpxSpou kXcovIcov, which were 
sometimes mixed with the olives; and Hermippus (in Athenas. lib. ii. c. 47. Schw.) says 
g|xj3aAXouo"i ju,«pa6ov eg tuc uXixaZctg. 

-f- Olivas fceniculo condire etiamnum apud Graecos solenne est ; has foeniculo et muria 
conditas olivas appellant xoXvpfirirus lAa'iaj, vocabulo paulum deflexo a veterum xoXv^ahc. 
— Coray in Athen. lib. ii. c. 47. Schw. 

P P 



290 



OLIVES, VINES, AND CORN 



The north wind is considered the most favorable, with dry weather, 
during the flowering of the olive tree. The fruit is all picked with 
the hand, and not suffered to fall as in Attica. 

Corn. 

Hordeum sativum. Two sorts of barley are cultivated at Zante, 
yvfipoxfuQi, and dXoyoxpiQ] ; the first is so called from being naked or 
destitute of beards ; this is principally used for bread, and that of 
Galaxithi, a town of Phocis, is the most esteemed. The second sort 
is so called from being used as the food of horses. 

Triticum sativum. The different sorts cultivated in Zante are, 

1. ypivsug. This is principally sown in the mountains, or at the foot 
of the mountains, as in the plains it is subject to the rust, and to be 
damaged by the south winds. To prevent its being injured by the 
heavy dews, two persons taking hold of each end of a long rope * draw 
it over the field ; by these means the water is shaken out of the husks, 
and the grain is preserved. 

2. Another sort is the ufrit^oy^vtaq^ which is also cultivated in simi- 
lar situations. 

3. A third sort is pouVtnas-, which grows principally in the plains, 
and is less subject to injury from the dews, and has the grain very 
hard. 

4. A fourth sort, ftavpoyuvt has a hard heavy grain which is much 
esteemed, and is sown in the plain. 

5. A fifth sort yp<pv<V^« is sown both in the plains and mountains ; 
has the spike compressed and the seeds close. 



* " Some advise, in the morning, after the mildew is fallen, and before the rising of the 
sun, that two men go at some convenient distance in the furrows, holding a cord stretched 
between them, carrying it so that it may shake off the dew from the top of the corn, before 
the heat of the sun hath thickened it." — Practical Treatise of Husbandry, containing ex- 
periments collected by Du Hamcl and others, p. 81. Mr. Hawkins says, that S«wA/t«j is 
the name applied to the mildew in corn. 



OF PARTS OF GREECE. 



291 



A sixth sort, yiuko<riri 9 is like qovo-o-ius, but white and shining. It is 
so called from yuxXi'geiv to shine. 

A seventh sort is Silvio. This is sown in the first part of 
March, and is a kind of spring corn ; they begin sowing the other 
sort in the mountains in the middle of October, and in the plains in 
November and December, and even in some strong grounds so late 
as January. Weeding, vol QoTuvigu, is performed by women, who are 
paid ten paras a-day for their labour, at least once or twice before the 
culmus is grown, the Kuxdptov. This operation is very tedious, being 
performed by the hand. The harvest begins early in June, first 
the barley, then the wheat of the mountains, then that of the plain ; 
the return is from five to ten for one. A bacillo of land is sown with 
a bacillo of corn ; a bacillo of land is four hundred square feet ; a 
bacillo of corn weighs seventy pounds of Venetian measure. 

BGEOTIA. 

The soil of Livadea is much richer than that of Attica ; the villages 
in Bceotia are more numerous, and in general larger; they were 
said to be at least 70 in number. The soil being moist and rich 
is not suitable to the olive ; but produces wheat of an excellent 
quality, and great quantity of Calamboki or Indian corn. The 
following articles are the principal objects of cultivation. ZiTtzpi, 
wheat*, of this there are four sorts, kokxivoo-iti, povoXoyi, $iuvivia 9 and 
fiXaxoo-Tcipt. The first of these species is the most generally cultivated ; 
the last is sown principally in the mountains. 

ApoifiotriTt Indian corn ; there are two sorts ; cto-TrpoxocXotpfioKt, and 

Botpfidxi, cotton ; there are two sorts, nroTicrTtKo and T^epixo. 

Kptdap/, barley; Kcujc/«, beans; Keyxph millet, two sorts, kIt^vo, and 



Wheat retains in Laconia its ancient name, irvpo;. 

p p 2 



292 OLIVES, VINES, AND CORN 

^a'ypo ; P/<n, rice ; VoQt'Qt *, tares ; Bp«p, oats ; Bp/cra, rye ; Qet<rov\: 9 kid- 
ney-beans ; (pdxi ; £0$; ; Bt'jc<« ; XocQovpi j a^xa ; dvn^d, anise; <rov(rdixr l} 
Sesamum ; kov^ivo, cummin. 



PRODUCE OF WHEAT IN DIFFERENT DISTRICTS OF GREECE. 

[FROM MR. HAWKINS.} 

In the plain of Argos, Mavrogani (black bearded wheat) in favor- 
able seasons gives ten for one. 

In the best part of Megara and Eleusis the same sort of wheat 
produces in favorable seasons twelve for one. 

In the plain of Vocca near Corinth, under the same circumstances, 
the produce of white wheat, Asprositi, is ten for one, but that of the 
other sort amounts to fifteen for one. 

The kind of wheat called Grinias, in the rich plain of Phoneas 
(Pheneus in Arcadia) yields in moderately good years twelve for one. 
In the plains of Milias (Mantinea) and Kandila in Arcadia, where 
several sorts of wheat are cultivated, the produce in favorable years 
is twelve for one. 

In the plains of Thessaly, the sort called Devedishi, or camel's 
tooth wheat, here cultivated almost exclusively, produces in moder- 
ately favorable years twelve for one, but in extraordinary seasons 
fifteen for one, and I heard of an instance of eighteen for one. 



* Po/3j in another part of Sibthorp's journals is applied to Ervum Ervilia, and is culti- 
vated in Cyprus for the use of camels and oxen. The word clu^o; is found in Du Cange 
under <pu<iou\ov ; perhaps it is the term which Dr. S. intended to use. In another part of 
his papers «uxo is Pisum ochrus. 



OF PARTS OF GREECE. 



293 



Upon the mountains of Greece, the coarse sort of wheat called 
Vlaccostari sown on newly cleared grounds, well manured with the 
ashes of the plants that grew thereon, produces from twelve to 
twenty for one. But the greatest produce that I have heard of 
was an instance of wheat sown in the marshes of Topolias (Copais) 
in Bceotia, when the waters had retired after a similar manuring 
with the ashes of aquatic plants. These results however only shew 
what the productiveness of wheat may be under some very singular 
circumstances, and are by no means to be taken into general account. 
Upon the whole, therefore, I am disposed to estimate the produce 
of good soils in Greece, in favorable seasons at from ten to twelve 
for one, and in the very best soils, and remarkably favorable years 
at from fifteen to eighteen for one. It must be observed that the 
wheat in Greece is generally sown in unmanured ground. 



ON THE DIFFERENT SPECIES OF VINE CULTIVATED IN ZANTE. 

[SIBTHORP'S MSS.] 

Vitis vinifera, k.yomrla.r^ or [Mtvpofrdpitj, of a black colour, much 
esteemed for the table, and makes the best wine ; is cultivated in a 
dry soil. 

2. Philaro, the fruit large, of a pale red colour, frequently of a 
musky smell ; cultivated in the richer and moister soils of the plain. 

3. Agoustolidi, a small white grape which ripens in August, and 
makes a sweet wine. 

4. Asprorompola, La Malvasia of Venice, a yellowish white grape, 
larger than the Agoustolidi ; as the plant advances in age, the fruit 
becomes smaller, when it is much esteemed for the Xmvopuyi wine, so 
called from Xixvog small, and puytx. 



294 



OLIVES, VINES, AND CORN 



The quantity of this wine is not great, and the grapes of the 
Agoustolidi being strewed upon the floor, and exposed to the sun 
are made into a wine which is sold for the Lianorogi. This vine is 
at present little cultivated. Previously to making the wine, the 
grape after being gathered is exposed to the sun, and the Rompola 
being a small grape is soon dried. 

5. Mavrorompola ; the racemus is remarkably close and compact, 
and the grape black and sweet ; it makes an excellent wine, and is 
cultivated in a dry mountainous soil. 

6. Kakotrygi or Lianovirgi ; the first name is given, because the 
racemi are not easily gathered, and they are obliged to be cut by the 
pruning knife ; the second name is given on account of the slender 
twigs. It produces a black grape with a rough sweetish taste. 

7. Kondocladi, produces a large white grape ; so called from its 
being pruned close, or near, kovtoc, and xXuSevu to prune. The wine 
is strong, dry, and white. 

8. Coucouliatis, an oblong grape terminating in a point ; makes a 
white wine. 

9. Chlora, produces a pale green grape, whence its name ; the 
wine made from it is of a greenish tint. The fruit is principally cul- 
tivated for the table. 

10. Petzirompola, produces a white grape with a tough skin 
(7T6t£< pellis.) It is little cultivated. 

11. Papadia, a white grape somewhat flattened in its figure. 

12. Tinactorogi ; a white grape, so called from the grapes being 
easily shaken out ; it is little cultivated. 

13. Polypodaro, a white grape, the fruit is supported on stalks, 
wide from each other. 

14. To xXypa. tod Boo-ov. The vine of the family of Bozo ; a white 
grape ; not much esteemed for the table ; it makes a good wine. 

15. To xkripci tov UxxjXov, a very large white grape which has been 
lately cultivated. 

16. Kozanitis, a white firm grape, which makes a strong wine of 
a yellow colour, with a fragrant vinous smell ; it is cultivated in 



OF PARTS OF GREECE. 295 

dry meagre lafid, and is peculiar to the island. Mixed with the 
Agoustiates, it keeps to a great age. 

17. Mavrophilaro is of a deep red colour, and makes an ordinary 
wine. 

18. Boi'SofxuTt is a large black grape. 

19. rXujteff$a a white sweet one. 

20. Lardera, of a reddish brown colour, and grows well, when 
planted in the shade. 

21. ApvySJxi;, of an almond shape ; it is white, and is kept for the 
table for winter. 

22. Folding has the colour of a pomegranate, and makes an excel- 
lent clear coloured wine, and is a good table fruit. 

23. Glycopati, a delicate small grape, of a reddish brown 
colour. 

24. Asproglycopati, the same kind, of a white colour. 

25. MotrxxTo, both white and black ; very sweet, and makes a rich 
wine much esteemed. 

26. Ampelocorytho ; a large white grape, so called from being 
trained on the espalier j it makes a good wine and is much esteemed 
for the table ; it preserves well as a dry fruit, and is equal, if not 
superior, to that of Smyrna. 

27. Scylopnictes, a wild vine, which produces a white grape, with 
an austere taste. 

28. Maronites, a large white grape ; little cultivated. 

29. 'AsTowx'i Eagle s claw, a large white grape ; esteemed for the 
table. 

30. Tou koko^ov rd^x^ i0i 5 a large white grape ; is trained on the 
espalier, and is esteemed at the table. 

31. Xirichi aspro, a large white grape ; an inch and a half long, 
in great bunches of a foot and a half in length. It is trained on the 
espalier, and is much esteemed at table. 

32. Xirichi mavro, of the same sort, of a black colour, with a 
still larger grape. 



296 



OLIVES, VINES, AND CORN 



33. To K>jfy*f* T ° u pctSitcoXoyov, like the last, but firmer, and of a red 
colour. 

34. Moo-xetTo tvis Actpt<r<rvic t a large white grape of a sweet musky 
flavour, esteemed as a table fruit. 

35. ITsTpojdopufle, a red grape which keeps well, and is the last 
gathered ; its name is probably derived from its hardness. 

36. Pef<we<a, a red grape of two sorts, one oblong, the other 
round. 

37. Po&pot xo-Trpct, a white grape ; the sort cultivated in Smyrna for 
exportation under the name of Smyrna raisins. 

38. 'ETTTazotXog, much esteemed for the table ; the vine continues to 
ripen its fruit through the autumn. In marriage ceremonies the 
stem of this vine is selected for the matrimonial crown, and care is 
taken to choose a rod of it that has forty knots or nodi, ko^ttoi ; this 
is indicative of the proliferous quality of the grape, which is to be 
communicated to the bride. 

39. To a-TotipvXt t?£ 'lepouo-aAaft, a black grape that preserves well ; 
has a hard seed, and a very large fruit; it is so called from its 
supposed resemblance to the grape found by the Jews in the land of 
promise. 

Vitis Corinthiaca Zra(p\jXoc ; a small black grape ; the famous 
Corinthian grape, is the principal produce of the island, the quantity 
produced may be computed at six millions of pounds ; sometimes 
at more. They are sold by a thousand weight ; the price at present 
is eighteen sequins of Venice ; and the total produce is estimated at 
54,0001. sterling. This is the most important object of cultivation 
in the island. The vine continues to produce for a very long 
period. The quantity of fruit in Cephallonia amounts to three 
millions and a half of pounds ; in Ithaca to half a million ; in 
Turkey to six millions. The places, in Turkey, where the fruit 
grows are, in the Morea, at Patras, Vostizza, Xylocastro, Camari ; in 
Romelia, at Lepanto, Messalungia, Natolico. Of the whole produce 



f 



OF PARTS OF GREECE. 297 

England takes twelve millions. A deep rich soil is the most proper 
for the cultivation of it at the root of the mountains, when the soil 
is irrigated and drenched by the waters which flow down from them, 
in the first rains that fall in October. A baccillo of tolerably good 
land will give, communibus annis, 1000 weight of currants ; the 
poorer land, not yielding so much ; the richer land more. Different 
attempts have been made at Corfou and Sta. Maura to introduce this 
grape ; but such is the delicacy of it, that it will not succeed. It is 
eaten at the table, and makes a rich sweet wine. 



Q Q 



( 298 ) 



REMARKS 

ON 

PARTS OF BCEOTIA AND PHOCIS. 

[FROM THE JOURNALS OF MR. R JUTES.] 

M arch 5. — A ride of five hours and a half over a dull and unin- 
teresting country, bare of wood and imperfectly cultivated, brought 
me from Thebes to Negropont, which I reached at five P. M., just 
before the gates were closed. The name of this place I believe was 
formed from the Euripus, on which it is situated ; the later Greeks, 
dropping the ancient name of Chalcis, called it Egripo, by an easy 
corruption from the Euripus, pronounced by them Euripo ; the Ve- 
netians by softening the Greek word to a sound more familiar to 
their own ears, made the present name of Negropont. 

The first view of the city from the hills to the westward on the 
road from Thebes, is perhaps the most striking of the kind I have 
seen in Greece. The double sea winding out of sight, and expand- 
ing in surface on either side, the town itself surrounded by lofty walls 
and towers, rising from the water, and sheltered behind by the moun- 
tains of Eubcea, which ranged along the horizon covered with snow, 
formed altogether a glorious picture. Every requisite for the pros- 
perity of a city seemed combined in the view ; advantages for com- 
merce, strength, healthiness, all appeared to belong to the situation. 
It looked dull, however, notwithstanding these advantages. No in- 
habitants were moving in the suburbs, not a single vessel was in the 
ports ; an air of gloom and depopulation was spread over the whole. 
Our road descending towards the sea, passed at the foot of a hill to its 
left, on which some Venetian fortifications, probably raised to defend 
the approach to the bridge still remain, and are garrisoned by the 



NEGROPONT. 



299 



Turks. I crossed the Euripus by an old and heavy bridge of three 
arches, under two of which are mills worked by the current, and en- 
tered the town by a gateway between two towers. 

The houses are almost universally built by the Venetians, and with 
a sort of gloomy solidity very different from later Turkish buildings. 
The streets are narrow and dark. The Turks, indeed, have made 
very little alteration in the town, which is filled with mementos of its 
Venetian possessors. The Lion of St. Mark retains his place on the 
gateways ; and carvings of coats of arms are to be seen over the doors 
of some of the principal houses. Two distinguishing traits of their 
national character, their pride and their indolence, render them averse 
from abolishing these recollections of their predecessors. The first 
division of the city is entirely inhabited by the Turks ; the Greeks 
and the Jews, who abound in Negropont, reside in a large suburb, 
separated from the town by the wall, and a broad space used as a 
burying-ground. In this suburb is the bazar, and the house of the 
Russian Consul, to whom I was recommended. 

In a place which has so long been the capital of a Venetian or 
Turkish province, antiquities are not likely to have remained. A 
large subterraneous building, in which a silk manufactory is carried 
on, is the only object in the town bearing a date beyond the time of 
its modern possessors. It is vaulted with very solid masonry, and 
appears to be a work of the Roman empire. A large Gothic church, 
which burst upon me most unexpectedly, with its high roof and 
square tower, awakened much warmer feelings by the recollection it 
inspired of similar buildings in England, and by its contrast with the 
wretched sameness of the round-ended Greek chapels. In style of 
building it resembles the later Gothic churches which occur in our 
large towns ; and is still used for divine service. 

The fortifications of Negropont on the land side consist of a wall 
with square towers, and a shallow trench ; beyond the suburb, lines 
are thrown up which extend from sea to sea. The same wall and 
towers are carried round the side of the city, which is washed by the 
sea, and a few small guns are mounted on it. One immense gun, 

q q 2 



300 



GREECE. 



hardly inferior in size to those at the Dardanelles, projects from a 
sort of gateway, not much above the level of the water, and 
threatens destruction to all shipping which should approach from the 
southward. 

The next morning I rode beyond the suburb into Eubcea, to visit a 
place which had been described to me as a subterraneous church. I 
descended into it by a hollow passage, wet, and not more than three 
feet high, which terminated in one of those conical cisterns or maga- 
zines which are to be seen on the rock of the Pireeus and on the hill 
above Eleusis. The sides of this were covered with some coarse 
sculpture, and it had probably been used as a chapel or place of devo- 
tion under the Greek empire, and at times when concealment in wor- 
ship was necessary. From this spot I rode down to the sea, which, 
at the distance of two miles from the city on the south side meets the 
mountains. The limestone rock, here, as at Athens, was shaped into 
the foundations of houses or tombs, and a long inscription of late 
date, and apparently relating to some private person, is partly legible, 
though much effaced by the corrosion of the sea-spray. Luxuriant 
springs of fresh water were bursting from the rock and falling into 
the sea. 

Returning through the town, we again crossed the Euripus by the 
bridge. The channel cannot be more than forty or fifty yards wide, 
and the passage for the water is still further narrowed by the massy 
piers of the bridge. The current was at this moment falling with 
nearly as much rapidity as the tide at London-bridge, in an opposite 
direction to that of the evening preceding. I was assured by 
the people of the place that the tide * changed every six hours, in 
case no high winds interfered with the regular course of the waters. 



* " Pliny, lib. ii., speaks with much clearness on the subject of tides in general, artd par- 
ticularly of those in the Mediterranean. The tides, he says, in the mouth of the straits of 
Messina and in the Euripus return at stated intervals, although the intervals may be differ- 
ent from those in the ocean or in other parts of the Mediterranean. Modern observations 
point out a rise of about five feet at Venice, but only twelve or thirteen inches at Naples 
and the Euripus." — RennelPs Herodotus, 659. 



EURIPUS. 



301 



While the Venetians were in possession of Negropont, a Jesuit, Father 
Babin, studied the tides of the Euripus with attention, in order to 
reconcile the varying accounts of ancient authors. Seneca says it 
changed fourteen times in twenty-four hours. 

Septemque cursus flectit et totidem refert, 
Dum lapsa Titan mergat oceano juga. 

Pliny, Pomponius Mela, and Strabo, all agree in assigning seven 
times of flux and reflux ; but F. Babin says his observations deter- 
mined him to the usual tides with the exception of certain days in 
which the stream appeared to follow no regular order, namely, the 
first five days of the moon's first quarter, and the same of her last 
quarter. 

On each side of this narrow channel, the Euripus swells into con- 
siderable breadth. Towards the south the shores project again, and 
form a basin of four or five miles diameter, which from the town ap- 
pears land-locked ; the northern part of the channel spreads uninter- 
ruptedly to the breadth of eight or ten miles, the shores of Eubcea 
and Bceotia retreating in a number of steep sloping headlands. 

Having crossed the bridge, we turned to the right, and took the 
road for Martino, a village which we had been assured was six hours or 
eighteen miles distant from Negropont. The fort on the hill was to 
our left. In half an hour we reached Halae, a village situated on a 
cultivated plain not far from the coast. The Euripus here spreads 
itself into a large bay, at the northern extremity of which was a small 
island, with a ruined tower and church, dedicated to St. Nicholas. 
Fifteen years ago, a band of robbers made this place their haunt, until 
they were extirpated by Ali Pasha. In two hours and a half from 
Negropont, or at rather more than seven miles distance, we came on 
the side of a large ancient town ; the fields were strewed with squared 
stones, and though no line of walls was to be traced on the land, two 
piers, which projected like horns, and formed a small circular * har- 



Atpevx tj^wcra.. — Strabo, lib. ix. 



302 



(iREECE. 



bour, were nearly perfect in the sea below. The account given by 
Strabo and Pausanias, of the distance of Anthedon from Thebes, and 
other places, made it likely that this was the situation of Anthedon, 
the last town of the Boeotian confederacy on this side, until Larymna 
joined it. Our road continued to run at a little distance from the 
sea, but parallel to the coast, over some low rising ground, for the 
most part uncultivated. In four hours from Negropont, we arrived 
at Potsomathi, a large deep bay, surrounded on three sides by high 
and abrupt mountains. We reached a small uncultivated valley at 
its head, only remarkable for some fine springs, which rose near the 
sea-side. From this valley an exceedingly bad and steep scala formed 
our road, as we ascended the side of the mountain ; we toiled la- 
boriously up in hopes of finding Martino at the summit, but were 
mortified by hearing from a man whom we met, that we could not 
reach it in five hours. As the evening came on, and we had lost 
our way, we rode to some fires which were burning at a distance, but 
the shepherds heard our approach, and ran off, apprehending that we 
were a party of the Pasha's Albanians. We were at last fortunate 
enough to find a lad who conducted us through the remainder of our 
road to Martino. 

This village contains about 100 houses, and is situated on a hill 
commanding a view over an extensive country, cultivated only near 
the town. At two hours, distance on the sea-coast, are considerable 
remains of a Greek city, which, I suppose, is the ancient La- 
rymna. The lower part of the town wall, of excellent masonry, still 
remains nearly perfect, and points out the extent of the town, 
which covered a considerable spot on the coast, as well as a small 
peninsula, included within the circuit; on each side of the isthmus of 
this peninsula, was a small harbour, formed by the projection of 
piers, which left only a space for the entrance of ships. The wall, 
flanked with towers, was carried along the sea-side, as well as towards 
the land. The whole of the area included, is covered with remains 
of building, but no foundation of public edifices, nor pieces of sculp- 
ture, could be seen. Without the walls, a large sarcophagus re- 



COPAIC LAKE. 



303 



mained unbroken, and with some vestiges of ornament on its side ; 
but no inscription was visible. 

Across the neck of the peninsula, a second wall has been built, 
but from the rude style of its construction, it is probably the work 
of a later time ; on each side of this place the coast forms a bay ; 
that to the south is terminated on the opposite side by high and 
steep mountains, covered with wood, wherever the abrupt descent 
will give room for vegetation. Into this bay, at the distance of about 
two miles from Larymna, a river falls, which the people of the 
country call the Larmi*, a name retaining some traces of the an- 
cient city. 

The line of country followed by us in the road of the last night, 
I knew, must cross the channel through which the Cephissus of 
Bceotia, and the waters of the Copaic lake, were discharged into 
the sea, and I had been hourly expecting to arrive on the banks 
of the stream. The darkness had prevented all observation of the 
country, but the sound of a strong fall of water, had led me to 
suspect that we were near the river, which, still, our road never 
passed before we ascended the hills to Martino. From the mouth 
of the Larmi I rode along its banks, which near the sea had been 
planted with cotton, until, in about three miles, I came to a spot 
covered with rocks and bushes, in the middle of which the whole 
river burst with impetuosity from holes at the foot of a low cliff, 
and immediately assumed the form of a considerable stream. 
Above this source, there is a small plain under cultivation, bounded 
to the west by a range of low rocky hills. From these, a mag- 
nificent view of the Copaic lake, and the mountains of Phocis, pre- 
sents itself to the eye. The lake was spread over a vast plain, into 
which the mountains of Bceotia jutted like bold headlands, and oc- 
casionally left some slips of cultivated land at their base. Beyond 
the lake, the plain of Haliartus and Orchomenus seemed hardly raised 



* This is the Cephissus; AxpupvuTc nap 6 K>j<p»<ro-of sx&j'&wcj. — Strabo, lib. ix. Larmi, 
is written by Meletius Aapveg- 



I 



304 GREECE. 

above the level of its waters, while the ridges of Parnassus towered 
over all, covered with snow, and broken into the most Alpine forms. 

The lake is about four miles distant from the source of the Larmi, 
and several circumstances corroborate the opinion of Strabo, that it 
has a subterranean outlet. At the foot of these hills its waters 
fall into a deep hollow called by the Greeks KtzToijSoQpa., and the 
volume of water which rises at the source of the Larmi is so great, 
that it seems beyond the quantity supplied by any common spring, 
and to be rather the re-appearance than the commencement of a 
river. Near the lake, and in the supposed direction of this under- 
ground stream, square pits are cut in the rock. It is probable that 
these are remains of the great work undertaken in the time of 
Alexander, when a miner was employed to clear away some ob- 
structions in this outlet of the waters, in order to check the inunda- 
tions of the lake. 

The Copaic lake is, in fact, nothing more than a lower division of 
the great plain which formed the territories of Haliartus, Livadea, 
Chseronea, Orchomenus, and other towns of Bceotia. The river 
Cephissus *, flowing through this plain, stagnated in the lower 
extremity of it, and formed there a wide but shallow lake by the 
accumulation of its waters, which must have risen still higher, had 
not one of those fissures common in mountains of limestone 
received them, and carried them off through the xuTufcofyy. 

The river having no other discharge for its streams, (for the whole 
of the plain, like all the interior plains of Greece, is entirely 
surrounded by mountains every obstruction in this subterraneous 



* The Permessus, Olmius, and Cephissus were the rivers that contributed to swell the 
Copais, (Strabo, lib. ix.) as well as the Melas, (Paus. ix.) This latter writer docs not 
mention the lake Hylica; did he consider it, as Heyne supposes, as part of the Copais? 

f " The plains of Brcotia are bounded to the north by the mountains of Phocis, to the 
south by those of Attica, and to the west by Cithaeron." — Strabo, lib. ix. Cithaeron is 
the modern Elateas, so called from the name of the silver fir, a tree which is found in 
many parts of it. 



BCEOTIAN CATABOTHRA. 



305 



passage endangered the safety of the tract of country, which was 
situated a little above its usual level. At the time when the under- 
taking for clearing the %a.Tul3o()pot was proposed, the rich and 
flourishing towns of the plain were reduced to a state of desolation 
by the incroachments of the lake, and under the despondency 
occasioned by an universal monarchy sunk into complete decay. At 
present the rising of the waters in winter has turned a great portion 
of the richest soil in the world into a morass, and should any 
permanent internal obstruction occur in the stream, the whole of 
this fertile plain might gradually become included in the limits of the 
Copaic lake. 

A fishery for eels is carried on at the Catavothra, and they are 
salted and sold all over Greece. They have continued to retain their 
celebrity from very early times ; and are praised by Dorion, Aga- 
tharcides, Eubulus (apud Athenaeum), and Aristophanes * ; and the 
Byzantine writers occasionally refer to them. (Niceph. Greg. lib. ix.) 



ON THE BCEOTIAN CATABOTHRA AND COPAIC LAKE. 

[BY THE EDITOR.] 

These great artificial excavations were probably formed by the wealthy 
Orchomenians, in very early ages, to protect the plain belonging to 
their state from inundation. The people who erected the Treasury, 
as it is called, of Orchomenus, wanted neither skill nor power to exca- 



* From the Boeotian lakes the Athenian market was supplied with various articles, 
which were not abundant in Attica. " The Bceotians (Irene, 1003.), sold the Athenians 
water fowl and wild fowl, manufactures of rush work, as mats and wicks for lamps, and 
fish from the lakes. — Gray on Aristoph. 

R R 



306 



GREECE. 



vate the rock for such important purposes. The caverns {(pu^wyyeg, Arist. 
Met. lib. xiii.) by which the waters were discharged from the plain 
were sometimes stopped by earthquakes (Strabo, lib. ix.); at other 
times from the same cause new fissures were occasioned. In the time 
of Alexander either fresh openings were made, for the sake of re- 
ceiving and conducting the waters, or the old apertures were enlarged. 
The name of the man of Chalcis, who was employed on this occasion 
may have been Crates. (Compare Stephanusin v. 'A0ijVa< with Strabo, 
lib. ix. and consult Freret. 47. Acad, des Inscr. 13.) 

The Lake Copais was known by another appellation, that of 
Cephissis ; this was with propriety given to it, as it receives the 
Cephissus. A passage in Strabo may lead to a different opinion ; but 
that part of the geographer is corrupt, and he was not always, as 
Paulmier observes, ocutcttt^c. * It was known also by another name, 
'■H lv [Oyxwru Xtpir,. Diod. S. lib. xvii. 167. The first traveller of modern 
times who visited the KctTul3oQpx was Wheeler ; and the whole of the 
district has been since accurately surveyed by Mr. Hawkins. A 
map f of this part of Boeotia will alone explain some of the obscure 
parts of the ninth book of Strabo. The addition to the soil made by 
the river must occasion difficulties in reconciling the topography 
of the country with ancient accounts ; " It has added no little quan- 
tity of soil," says Diodorus, torn. i. 48. 

The remarks of Mr. Raikes afford a very valuable illustration of some 
of the geographer's words, in which he mentions the subterraneous 
discharge of the waters of the Cephissus, after it had flowed through the 
Copaic Limne. " A chasm or gulf," says Strabo, " close to the lake, 
opened under ground a passage of about thirty stadia in length ; the 
river was received into this, and then burst into view again." ij: The 



* Ex. in Gr. auctores. This reference to Paulmier is omitted in the French translation 
of Strabo. 

+ Stuart in his visit to Bceotia mentions a lake distinct from that of Thebes and of Topo- 
lias ; so that there are three lakes, vol. iv. 

X The words xipvri ay^ah^ (see Strabo, French Transl. vol. iii. 411.) are not those of 
Meletius, as it is there stated, but of Pausanias, lib. ix. 



COPAIC LAKE. 



307 



distance between the lake and the rising again of the river is stated by 
Mr. Raikes at about four miles ; this may be considered as correspond- 
ing, though not exactly, to the distance of thirty stadia. The gulf, 
into which the waters of the lake fall, is at a spot where the xcvrtxQoQpu, 
the square pits mentioned by Mr. Raikes, are placed. Of the re- 
appearance of the river, Strabo says l^e^^ev elg rvjv e7n(pctveia.y, which is 
weakly rendered by the French translation, ses eanx reparurent ; but 
Mr. Raikes' words written on the spot express well and accurately the 
meaning of the Greek : " The whole river burst with impetuosity from 
holes," &c. 

In the traditions of the country, it was said, that Orchomenus was 
once built in the plain ; that the ground covered afterwards by the 
Lake Copais, was formerly dry ; that inundations caused the inhabit- 
ants to remove to a higher spot (Strabo, lib. ix.) ; and that Hercules, 
to avenge the Thebans, stopped up a canal which had served for the 
discharge of part of the lake, and thus caused the river to overflow 
the territory of the Orchomenians. (Diod. Sic. iv. 158. Pausan. Rceot. 
Palm. Exercit. 100.) Many of the plains of Greece, surrounded by 
lofty mountains, were subject also to inundations. The Larisseans 
were obliged, by dykes and mounds (7rupa,xu p<x<r^ to check the over- 
flowing of the Lake Nesonis, the modern Carla, which, by the increase 
of the Pheneus, sometimes spread itself over the adjoining districts. 
(Strabo, 440. and Theophrast. De C. P. p. 5.) The ancient city of 
Pheneus had been destroyed in this manner (Paus. lib. viii.) ; and 
BxpccQpa, or Z6p£0pa, to use the Arcadian word, were formed in the 
mountains to receive the waters of the plain. * These are described 
by Pausanias as five miles distant from Pheneus. The formation of 
some of the Barathra in Arcadia was attributed to Hercules, as they 
were of laborious and difficult execution : " et d'autant que cet exploit 
etoit admirable, et surpassant les forces humaines on l'a attribue a 
Hercule." (Scaliger, Discours de la jonction des mers. 556.) 



* " The Stymphalus and Ladon were absorbed by the hollow places in the earth." — 
Diod. S. vol. ii. 41. 

B B 2 



308 



GREECE. 



RHAMNUS. 

[MR. RAIKES'S JOURNALS CONTINUED.] 

At the distance of an hour and fifty minutes from Marathon, a 
space answering with sufficient exactness to the sixty stadia mention- 
ed by Pausanias, the remains of the ancient Rhamnus are still to be 
found under the name of Vraso Castro. The ruins of the temple of 
Nemesis lie at the head of a narrow glen which leads to the principal 
gate of the town. The fall of the building seems to have been 
occasioned by some violent shock of an earthquake, the columns 
being more disjointed and broken than in any other ruin of the 
kind. The mass of materials and their confusion are so great, that 
probably the contents of the temple, the statue formed by Phidias, 
Phidiaca Nemesis*, may be buried under the fragments. (Strabo, 
lib. ix.) The building must have been inferior in size to those 
Doric temples which still remain in Attica, and the columns were 
only fluted in the upper part of their shaft. The diameter at the 
base measured two feet three inches ; that at the summit one foot 
ten inches. The intercalumniation at a point where the lower 
cylinders of two adjacent columns were standing was three feet 
ten inches. The whole structure was of the finest Pentelic marble. 
The statue, as we learn from Pausanias, was formed from the Parian 
marble brought by Datis, for the purpose of raising a trophy ; and 
therefore with singular propriety applied to the worship of Nemesis, 
according to the ideas entertained of her office by the Greeks. 

The town of Rhamnus was placed on a round rocky hill, about a 
quarter of a mile below the temple, surrounded by the sea for two- 
thirds of its circumference, and separated from the hills on the shore 



* Rhamnus illustris, quod in ea fanum Amphiarai et Phidiaca Nemesis. — Mela. 



RHAMNUS 



309 



by a broad ravine. The walls, Fxpvcvg reTxH% which were of the 
finest masonry, are still visible round the greater part of the area, and 
towards the land are of considerable height. The groupes of mastich 
which overhang them form a peculiarly picturesque view near the 
entrance. 

Of the buildings of the town hardly a vestige remains ; great heaps 
of marble and stone are scattered over the surface of the hill, and are 
partly hid by the low wood. The only fragment of which the original 
form can be ascertained, is the base of a large marble chair resembling 
those which are to be seen in the church of St. Soteera at Athens. 
It presents an inscription, serving, in addition to the correspondence 
of distances, to mark the identity of this site with Rhamnus. The 
words are PAMNOTIIOS KnMniAOIF, and probably they commemo- 
rate the honorary gift of the chair to some players who had contri- 
buted to the entertainment of the people. The materials of these 
chairs and their decoration render them objects of curiosity. Their 
form resembles that of the heavy arm-chair now in fashion ; on those 
at Athens owls are sculptured under the arms, in allusion to the em- 
blem of the city ; and on the sides of the base, garlands, such as were 
appropriated to victors in the games, are formed in basso-relievo. 
Their solidity is such as to render them nearly immovable, and to this 
and to their strength is to be attributed their preservation. It is not 
likely that such masses of stone should ever have been intended for 
articles of furniture within the walls of a house, but all we know of the 
customs and way of life of the ancients suggests a different use. 
They were probably placed at the expense of the state, or of indivi- 
duals for seats in the public places, in the popular assembly, the' 
agora, or even the streets. Thus Homer I. 504, describing a judicial 
process, says 

01 ce ytpovreg 
Iiolt \tt\ £ecT0i<ri XiGoig, /spa evl zvy.Xu: 

Herodotus represents the citizens of Apollonia as taking the op- 



* Scylac. Perip. 21 . — Hudson, G. M. i. 



310 



GREECE. 



portunity of entering into a careless and unsuspicious conversation 
with Evenius, itetvqrfwo Evyvt'ov iv Quku>, probably on some seat of this 
kind in the place of general resort. The Septuagint version, which 
continually alludes to Grecian customs, makes Job refer to this, when 
in enumerating the felicities of his prosperous youth, he says, \v l\ 
TrXccT'duig ItiQsto pov 6 Mtppog. xxix. 7. The names of the official part 
of the government at Athens appear to have some connection with a 
distinction of this kind, the presidents for the time being were called 
ITpos^poi; the N^ftD^oXesjefg were said <tvyKot$i£e<r$ett with the Proedri ; 
but though this sort of conjecture may appear trivial, the influence of 
climate which invariably suggests some kind of coincidence in com- 
mon habits of life to the inhabitants of any particular country, how- 
ever remote in age or circumstances, and which now carries the idle 
Turks to the bazar, as it did the Greeks to the agora, must have then 
made a constant seat in the morning assembly a pleasant as well as 
an honourable distinction. 



On the Gpovoi and Ai'ippot of the Greeks. 

[Although the subject is not one of great importance, we may add 
some instances by way of confirming Mr. Raikes's remark. The 
~NopctpvXux.es sate at public spectacles l-rrl Bpovasv, a name given to these 
chairs of honour. (Vales, in Harpoc. 55.) They were consecrated 
to particular deities in ancient temples ; in the vestibule of that at 
Olympia there was among other offerings, a throne presented by 
Arimnus king of the Etrusci. (Paus. v. 12.) In the temple of the 
Lycian Apollo at Argos, there was in the time of Pausanias, the 
throne of Danaus (II.) on the road from the Acrocorinthus, there 
was in a temple a column and throne of white marble, consecrated 
to Cybele. Id. lib. ii.) At Naxia, a seat was appropriated as the 
inscription informs us to the great priest Aristarchus ; one of white 
marble was placed at Abydos for Xerxes, when he surveyed his 
troops. (Herod, lib. vii.) Hypsipyle, queen of Lemnos, after haranguing 
the people sits down on the marble chair of her father Thoas. ( Apoll. 



CORYCIAN CAVB. 



311 



E.hod. Arg. i. 667.) On a coin of Olba in Cilicia, we see a chair 
represented, and on one side of the money is the name of Polemo, 
high priest and prince of the city. (Mem. de l'A. In. xxi. 427.) 
These and other examples prove that marble seats were allotted as 
places of distinction* to persons of eminence. They may be 
considered, sometimes, as forming part of the public monuments of 
the state. The Adulitan inscription is written on the A/ppo? 
riTo\£ t uxiY.6:. Chishull, An. As. 76. The custom we allude to was 
familiar to the inhabitants of Italy also. " Caius Julius Gelo is 
allowed to sit at the public games at Veii among the priests, called 
Augustales, bisellio propiio." Mem. de l'Ac. xxi. 374.] — Ed. 



THE CORYCIAN CAVE. 

{MB. RAIKES'S JOURNALS CONTINUED.] 

March 19. — I quitted the village of Aracova at half-past seven > 
the master of the cottage in which I had slept undertook to guide us- 
to the Corycian cave, with the situation of which he appeared 
acquainted. We left the road to Castri which continued to run along 
the narrow valley between the two mountains, and turning to the 
right began to ascend the slope of Parnassus by a steep road im- 
mediately from the village. The declivity was cultivated with an in- 
dustry worthy of Switzerland. Every spot of vegetable soil was 
covered with low vines ; and I remarked one attention to the value 
of productive ground which occurred no where else in Greece. The 
shallow soil was sometimes interrupted by great masses of rock which 
reared themselves above the surface, and the careful husbandman, 



* On the marble chair at Lesbos, the inscription is lIOTAM&NOS TQ AESBANAK- 
T02 ITPOEAPIA, not Tot/, as some have erroneously copied it. At Delphi there is a 
chair with an inscription on the back; Clarke's Travels, T. iii. who informs us, p. 145. 
that there is one also at Chasronea, which the Greeks still call fyoW. A Gymnasiarch's 
chair in marble at Athens is mentioned in Lord Elgin's Memorandum, p. 32. 



312 



GREECE. 



unwilling to lose the corner on which he must otherwise have 
heaped the loose stones gathered from the rest of the field, had 
raised them in pyramids on these masses. In Judea the' same 
causes might have led to the same economy of soil ; and perhaps 
the prophet Micah alludes to some similar appearance in the vine- 
yards of his own country, when he says, i. 6., " I will make Samaria 
as a heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard," or to take 
the expression of the Vulgate, " I will make Samaria as a heap of 
stones, when a vineyard is planted." 

Aracova is famous for the quality of its wines. I had tasted some 
of the grapes the night before ; they had been preserved during 
the winter, by filling the jar in which the bunches were placed, with 
wine. They were black, thinly scattered on the stalk, and of no par- 
ticular flavour. The vineyards were soon passed, and the ascent 
became more and more steep, until, in an hour's time from Aracova, 
I was surprised by entering on a wide plain of considerable extent, 
and under cultivation, where I expected to see nothing but rocks and 
snow. High above this wide level the ridges of Parnassus rose on 
the north and east, covered with snow and hid in clouds. The plain 
before me could not be less than four or five miles across ; a large 
dull looking village was placed in the middle of it ; a lake, 
with banks most beautifully broken, was on my left. Not having 
seen the other side of Parnassus, I have no means of judging as to the 
advantages of the ridge above Tithorea, which Herodotus mentions 
as the retreat of the Phocians during the Persian invasion. This 
plain seems peculiarly fitted for the same purpose. The ground 
would have afforded pasture for their cattle - , and some proportion of 
food for themselves, and the ascent to it was so steep and narrow, 
that it must have been defended by a very few men. The happy 
situation of Greece protected it from the successive inroads of bar- 
barous nations, which in Asia so repeatedly swept every thing before 
them, and checked the progress of civilization. Against the Scy- 
thian tribes, the iEgsean sea, and even the Hellespont, was a sufficient 
rampart, and by a fortunate chance, the emigrations from the north- 



CORYCIAN CAVE. 



313 



eastern part of Europe, took an easterly direction, and followed 
the coasts of the Euxine or the line of Caucasus, into Persia and 
Asia Minor. The army of Xerxes was the only foreign force 
which ever came with the irresistible weight of an emigration, or 
led them to doubt of their ability to cope with their enemy in 
the field. 

Had these inroads occurred more frequently, the Phocians would 
have learned the value of their natural citadel more fully. In Syria 
and Judea, the wretched inhabitants became familiarized with such 
retreats, during the repeated invasions of the Assyrian kings. Je- 
remiah, in the translation of the Septuagint, expresses this dreadful 
necessity with great force, iv. 29., «Vo ipmvqg l-mrtug, ka) IvTiTocf/ivou 

TO^OV CCViy^U^TlVZ 7T0i(TC6 7j %Wp«, £lCr£OV<TOlV Ztg TOi 0"7T Jj[A«<fi'j OC,V£pV}(TOtV Big Tag 

TTErpa.;, Tvccaa. iroktg xc&TeXsifpdy;. 

The view to -the southward from this spot was extensive and 
very striking : the mountain Cirphis on the other side of the valley 
of Aracova terminated in aflat table land like the recess in Parnassus, 
well cultivated, and studded with villages ; but the greater height of 
both these plains raised them above the regions of spring, which we 
had left below ; vegetation had not yet begun to appear, and the 
snow lay in patches over both of them. Beyond, the mountains of 
the Morea filled up the distance. 

We rode across the plain towards the north, and leaving our 
horses at the foot of the ascent which bounded it, climbed up a 
steep and bushy slope to the mouth of the Corycian cave. I had 
been so repeatedly disappointed with scenes of this kind, they had so 
generally appeared inferior to the descriptions given of them, that I 
expected to meet with the same reverse here, and to find nothing 
but a dark narrow vault. I was, however, to be for once agreeably 
surprised ; the narrow and low entrance of the cave, spread at once 
into a chamber 330 feet long, by nearly 200 wide ; the Stalactites 
from the top hung in the most graceful forms, the whole length 
of the roof, and fell, like drapery, down the sides. The depth of the 

folds was so vast and the masses thus suspended in the air were so 

s s 



314 



GREECE. 



great, that the relief and fullness of these natural hangings, were 
as complete as the fancy could have wished. They were not like 
concretions or encrustations, mere coverings of the rock ; they were 
the gradual growth of ages, disposed in the most simple and majestic 
forms, and so rich and large, as to accord with the size and loftiness 
of the cavern. The stalagmites below and on the sides of the 
chamber, were still more fantastic in their forms, than the pendants 
above, and struck the eye with the fancied resemblance of vast human 
figures. 

At the end of this great vault, a narrow passage leads down a wet 
slope of rock ; with some difficulty, from the slippery nature of the 
ground on which I trod, I went a considerable way on, until I came 
to a place where the descent grew very steep, and my light being 
nearly exhausted, it seemed best to return. On my way back, I found, 
half buried in the clay, on one side of the passage, a small antique 
Patera, of the common black and red ware. The encrustation of the 
grotto had begun to appear ; but it was unbroken, and I was interested 
in finding this simple relic of the homage once paid to the Corycian 
nymphs by the ancient inhabitants of the country. The stalagmitic 
formations on the entrance of this second passage, are wild as imagin- 
ation can conceive, and of the most brilliant whiteness. 

It would not require a fancy, lively, like that of the ancient 
Greeks, to assign this beautiful grotto, as a residence to the 
nymphs. The stillness which reigns through it, only broken by 
the gentle sound of the water, which drops from the point of the 
stalactites*, the uS#f a-evawta of the grotto of the nymphs in the 
Odyssey, the dim light admitted by its narrow entrance, and reflected 
by the white ribs of the roof, with all the miraculous decorations 
of the interior, would impress the most insensible with feelings of 
awe, and lead him to attribute the influence of the scene to the pre- 
sence of some supernatural being. 



* Distillantes quoquc guttce in lapides durescunt in antris Coryciis. Pliny, lib. xxxv. 



CORYCIAN CAVE. 



315 



An inscription, which still remains on a mass of rock, near the 
entrance, marks that the cavern has been dedicated to Pan and the 
Nymphs. 

EYSTPATOD 
AAKIAOMOT 
AMBPTIIOX 
STMPEPIPOAOI 
PANI NTMOAI2.* 

The epithet applied to Pan, may perhaps allude to the share he 
was reputed to have in defending Delphi against the Gauls and 
Brennus. 



* Pan and the Nymphs are associated on various occasions; (see Aristoph. Thesm. 
985. ; the life of Plato by Olympiodorus, and the Attics of Pausanias. Seetzen saw in 
Syria, a Greek inscription in which they are jointly commemorated ; they are also placed 
together in that found in the Corycian cave, where the words allude to some act of worship 
rendered by " Eustratus, of Ambryssus, son of Dacidomus to Pan, who was the guardian 
of the place, together with the Nymphs." (neplwoXos, fpovpoc, tyopo;. Hesych.) — E. 



s s 2 



( 316 ) 



REMARKS 

RELATING TO 

THE MILITARY ARCHITECTURE OF ANCIENT GREECE. 

[FROM THE LATE COL. SQUIRE'S PAPERS.] 

Greece abounding in mountains afforded an ample supply for 
buildings ; and in different situations may be traced the progress of 
the military architecture of the ancient inhabitants of the country 
from a wall of huge irregular masses *, as they were taken from the 
quarry, to that magnificent style of building, where the stones 
always placed without cement in horizontal courses have a rectangular 
form, and are so adapted to each other, as to present an uniform and 
consolidated structure. 

Among the beautiful vestiges of the ingenuity and perfection in 
architecture of the Greeks, four different modes of building may be 
observed. 1. The most ancient and simple was that in which immense 
masses of rock detached from the mountains are piled upon each 
other. Their shape being uneven, they could not be so united as to 
form a compact body ; smaller stones therefore, as we learn from 
Pausaniasf, were inserted between them in order that the building 



* In the Journal des Scavans 5 mention is made of a wall in Asia Minor of a most 
remarkable extent; it is described as enclosing a great part of the ancient Pamphylia. 
" C'est un rare ouvrage d'antiquite dont il est surprcnant que personne n'nit encore parle, 
et qui n'a ete observe que depuis peu par un illustre Francois nomme M. de Boisgien, 
dans un voyage qu'il a fait de Smyrnc a Attalie. C'est la grande et longue muraille, qui 
enferme toute la Pamphilie, comme celle qui est a la Chine. De sorte que toute la 
Pamphilie est bornee ou par la mer d'un cote, ou par cette longue suite de murailles de 
l'autre. Le consul Francois qui est a Attalie a assure M. de Boisgien avoir deja fait la 
meme remarque." 

f Lib. ii. Xj9/« 8' lir^ffLwrai iro\\», instead of itdkuu See the French translation of 
Strabo, lib. viii. 235. 



MILITARY ARCHITECTURE OF GREECE. 



317 



might be rendered more solid and secure. The walls of Mycenas 
and Tiryns are constructed in this manner ; the latter seem to be 
the most ancient ; because at Mycenas the sides of the stones are 
in some degree squared and adapted to each other. Many may 
be found in both these fortresses, equalling a cube of six feet in their 
bulk. * The walls of Tiryns are twenty-seven feet in thickness ; 
Homer alludes to them in the word rei^toevru ; and this circumstance 
alone might lead us to some estimate concerning their antiquity. 
The walls of Mycenae could not be destroyed by the Argives ; they 
are as well as those of Tiryns j" a prodigious work, resembling the 
labours of giants rather than of men. They are of the class usually 
called Cyclopic ; by which nothing more is meant than that they 
are constructed of large masses, in reference to the mythological 
accounts of the Cyclops j:, who were said to hurl rocks instead of 
stones. 

2. The most ordinary mode of building in the Greek fortresses 
which now exist, is that, wherein stones were used of a very irregular 
size and figure, differing from each other, but grooved and adapted 
with the most scrupulous nicety ; sometimes they were of seven, 



* See Mr. Hamilton's Memoir on the Greek fortresses, in the Archaeol. vol. xv. 

f See the representation of them in Sir W. GelPs Argolis. One of the earliest travellers 
in Greece Des Mouceaux, in 1668, thus mentions them; Les murailles ont 21 pieds 
d'epaisseur ; les materiaux ressemblent plus a des Rochers qu' a des Pierres ; elles ne sont 
point taillees ; mais mises en ceuvre comme elles se sont recontrees ; les joints sont remplis 
d'autres Pierres plus petites. Tom. v. Le Bruyn. 

X The remains of what has been called Cyclopic or Pelasgic architecture may be seen 
in various parts of the Peloponnesus, as well as beyond the Isthmus. The Polyhedrous 
style of building is also observable in the islands of Candia, Cerigo, and Melos ; on Mount 
Sipylus, near Smyrna ; in Paphlagonia, near Sinope and Amisus. It was employed occa- 
sionally by the Romans at a late period. (See the remarks of Sickler, Petit Radel, and 
Dodwell in the Magasin. Encyclop. Oct. 1809, 1810, and April 1811.) — The inscription 
at Ferentino proves that the Cyclopic or Polygon style of building was used by the 
Romans in the time of Augustus. V. Gruter. 165. 3. 166. 1. — Ed. 

The Dactyli or Idean Curetes introduced various arts into Greece (Strabo, lib. x.); he 
considers them as the same with the Cyclops of Argolis, whose works were shewn at Tiryns, 
and in other parts of Greece. (Lib. viii.) 



318 



MILITARY ARCHITECTURE OF GREECE. 



or even eight sides, and in one instance, in a fragment of an ancient 
wall, forming part of the Turkish fortress of Salona, (formerly 
Amphissa,) of thirteen. Instead of placing them rough in the wall 
from the quarry, they worked the stone, according to the shape in 
which it happened to be detached into straight and smooth sides, so 
that when joined together, these stones produced a very great degree 
of solidity in the masonry. 

3. In a third method of building, the stones were placed in 
horizontal courses, but occasionally by descending below, or reaching 
above the line, they varied from regularity. The joints were some- 
times at an angle with the horizon, and frequently perpendicular. 

The first mode of construction seems peculiar to Mycenas and 
Tiryns ; the second and third are observed indiscriminately in the 
fortified places of Greece Proper, as well as in Peloponnesus. Phyle 
in Attica is built according to the fourth class ; as well as the 
temples and other monuments at Athens; in these no cement, nor 
any other sort of composition has been used to unite the * masonry. 
In many of the fortresses of Greece, the stones have no other bond 
but their own elaborate workmanship ; and their walls and towers 
present the firmness and solidity of a rock. 

[The walls of Byzantium and Jerusalem, are described by Herodian 
and Josephus, as constructed in the same manner ; the stones of a 
rectangular form were so adjusted to each other, as to present the 
most regular surface. Strict attention was paid by the military 
architects of antiquity to this mode of building, because their for- 
tresses were better able to resist those engines, the sharp points of 
which were driven forcibly against the wall by the besieging party. 

Sometimes iron cramps with lead were used to unite the stones ; 
they were employed in the wall built by Themistocles at the Pirasus, 
which was begun in the year 481 B. C, and finished, 477, (Dodwell. 



* In some of the most ancient buildings of Egypt, mortar was used; " the stones of the 
pyramids," says Shaw, " have all been laid in mortar." See also Dr. Clarke, vol. iii. 



MILITARY ARCHITECTURE OF GREECE. 



319 



Ann. Thucy.) This mode, as appears by inspection, was also adopted 
in the construction of the Parthenon. It was used by the architects 
of the ancient cities of the East ; at Babylon the stones were fixed by 
iron fastenings, and melted lead was poured in ; Diod. S. lib. ii. 
121. p6\i$$ov IvTyKova-a. The Turks have frequently endeavoured to 
extract the iron and lead from the ancient buildings of Greece and 
Asia Minor, by breaking the marble in pieces. In Italy, the Coli- 
seum and other edifices have suffered in the same manner repeated 
injuries. In the lower ages, MafFei observes, these metals were very 
scarce, and the walls were destroyed for the purpose of extracting 
them. 

The ancient architects of Egypt, Syria, and Italy, used wood also 
to unite and bind the stones together. The French, during their 
expedition to Egypt, observed at Ombos and Philge that pieces of the 
Sycamore had been formed for that purpose into a dove-tail shape ; 
at Ombos they appear to have been covered with bitumen. Fas- 
tenings made of wood, of similar forms, (assulce ex quolibet latere ad 
formam caudce hirundinis,) were used in some of the ancient buildings 
of Italy, and were seen and described by F. Vacca. The Greeks, as 
we learn from Jerome, expressed this mode of binding stones toge- 
ther* by the word l[4avr>mmi& In the prophet Habakkuk, ii. 11., the 
Hebrew term bearing a similar meaning is Caphis, and the passage 
of the original is rendered by Symmachus, <ruv$e<rpog oMofypng %uXivos, 
Hieronym. Opp. T. iii. 1610. In the Zc<pU Se<pa^, xxii. v. 16. we find 
IpuvTutrii; fcvXivy ephfefiZwi elg omoSopvjv, which is rendered by Coverdale, in 
the first Bible printed in English, " Like as the bond of wood bound 
together in the foundation of an house."] — Ed. 

The sites of fortified towns may be discovered in many parts of 
Greece ; in Phocis, the vestiges are frequent. Elatea is now occu- 



* Codinus (de orig. Constan.) observes, that in building the walls of Sta Sophia, water, 
in which barley had been boiled, was mixed with the lime, and that the stones were as 
strongly united together by the mortar, as if cramps of iron had been used. See Mem. 
de l'Ac. des in. xlvii. 309. 



320 



MILITARY ARCHITECTURE OF GREECE. 



pied by the little village of Turcochorio ; this hamlet is at the en- 
trance of the pass through the mountains leading from the plain of 
the Cephissus to Opus and Thermopylae. Drymea was above Elatea, 
and some remains of an ancient fortress on a hill seem to mark its 
situation. On the right bank of the Cephissus, was Tithronium, 
and in the plain, at the roots of Parnassus, were Charadra, and Am- 
phiclea ; a palaio-castro, at the entrance of a road, across Parnassus 
to Delphi, appears to point out the position of the first. Between 
this place and Velizza, are some small remains of an ancient fort at a 
village called Thathia. On the road, over the tops of Parnassus, 
from Charadra to Delphi, may be placed Lilaea at the village now 
called Aghourea. Then Ledon and Velizza (Tithorea) where are 
walls and towers * of ancient construction. The north part of the 
plain of Chaeronea, was a portion of Phocis ; the frontier town in this 
part was Panope, the walls of which are still in existence ; the acropolis 
was on a rugged height ; the city itself was partly in a plain, and 
near it is the modern village of Agios Blasios. The position of 
Daulis is pointed out by the modern appellation Thavlia f, a village 
very pleasantly situated on Parnassus, and by a palaio-castro forming 
an acropolis, on an abrupt isolated mountain. The route from Dau- 
lis to Ambryssus, the modern Distomo, passes the o$c; o-^o-t^, the di- 
vided way, the sacred road to Delphi. Ambryssus is on an elevated 
plain about an hour's distance from the sea. 

Herodotus relates that the towns of Phocis were burnt, and 
destroyed, with their temples and public buildings, when Xerxes 
invaded Greece, after the battle of Thermopylae. The remains in 
this country of walls and towers of the most solid construction are 
those probably with which the Phocian cities were surrounded after 



* These are described in Dr. Clarke's account of Tithorea. See Appen. to Tomb of 
Alexander. 

f An inscription found at Thavlia, by the Earl of Aberdeen, and published in this 
volume, confirms the conjecture in the text. 



MILITARY ARCHITECTURE OF GREECE. 



321 



the incursions of the Barbarians. On Parnassus, and in the plain 
of the Cephissus, at the roots of the mountain may be enumerated 
eight fortified places as remarkable for the strength of their position 
as the durability and excellence of their workmanship. These for- 
tifications were generally placed on a rugged height naturally difficult 
of access ; walls with square or round towers at intervals were con- 
tinued along the irregular contour of the hill, which served as an 
acropolis or citadel, while the slope of the mountain with a portion 
of level ground at the bottom was enclosed, and contained the houses 
and buildings of the city. * Sometimes heights are fortified for the 
defence of a pass in the mountains ; we see an instance of this in the 
palaio-castro in the oSog o-%<o-tij, and another on the road to Parnassus 
from the upper part of the plain of the Cephissus, which leads to 
Salona, and Delphi. The fort of Phyle on Mount Parnes, and one 
near a gorge in Cithseron, conducting from the plains of Eleutherse 
into Bceotia, may be added. Sometimes the walled enclosures are 
entirely in the plain, as in the remains of Plataea, and the oval 
fortifications of Leuctra. 



* Colonel Squire remarks, that the plural termination of the names of some Greek 
cities, as ©>j/3«(, 'A^vxt, refers to the united cities ; the Upper, or the Citadel, and the 
Lower city. This observation may be confirmed by a parallel remark of Bishop Lowth : 
When the prophet (Isai. lxiv. 10.) speaks, he says, in the plural number of cities, Sion and 
Jerusalem may be meant, as they are divided into the Upper and Lower city. 



T T 



( 322 ) 



ANTIQUITIES OF ATHENS. 

This vase, which was found by Lord Aberdeen at Athens, is, un- 
fortunately, not entire ; it is remarkable for the fineness of its clay, 
the beauty of the varnish, and the spirit of the figures. The subject 
represented on it may allude to some prize obtained in a race at the 
public games by one or more horses ; such successes were recorded 
on vases and marbles. An inscription in the Laconian dialect 
quoted by Muratori, and emended by Ruhnkenius (Greg, de D.) 
mentions a prize gained by Damoclidas, xeX^n, equo singulari. 

From the posture of the man who is represented as examining the 
foot of the horse, we are not to suppose that any conclusion can be 
drawn respecting the practice of nailing iron shoes to the feet of 
that animal.* Beckmann, with his usual industry and research, has 
collected almost all that has been said on this point, and infers that 
there is no mention of iron shoes in the ancient writers. The hoofs 
of the horses of Alexander were worn out by constant journies. 
Diod. S. xvii. Those of Mithridates are described as xuhevovreg \% 
viroTptfiys, at the siege of Cyzicum. Appian. de B. M. To what 
Beckmann has said, we may add the remark of Wesseling : " Ignotus 
erat solearum ferrearum quibus ungulce equorum contra aspera et seru- 
posa loca muniuntur, usus. Scio J. Vossius ad Catull. ex Xenophonte 
eas eruere, atque hinc 'KaXxoTroficcs Homeri equos illuminare conatum esse, 
sed irrita opera." D. Sic. xvii. 233. 

This vase was also found by Lord Aberdeen in excavating a tomb 
at Athens ; the ground of it is red, and the workmanship rather 



* " While the Lacedaemonians were encamped at Decelea, the Athenian cavalry were 
to little purpose employed in endeavouring to check their ravage and destruction. Many 
of the horses, the art of shoeing that animal being yet unknown, were lamed by unremitted 
service on rough and stony ground." — Mitford's Greece, ii. 498. 



ANTIQUITIES OF ATHENS. 



323 



coarse ; the figures partake of the Etruscan style. The word K.AAOD 
or KAAE occurs frequently on ancient vases ; in many instances a pro- 
per name is connected with it, and we may enumerate at least ten in 
which this is the case. Various opinions have been offered re- 
specting the meaning of the word. Mazzochi first pointed out the 
true sense of it, and his conjecture has been confirmed by Lanzi, 
Visconti, and Bcettiger. (See Millin, Die. de B. A.) On the finger 
of a statue of Jupiter made by Phidias, were the words nANTAPKHS 
KAAOS ; one of Mr. Hope's vases bears the name Clitarchus, to 
whom this epithet is also given ; and as it is of the most ancient 
style of art, we may suppose with Millin, that Phidias only imitated 
a custom already very prevalent and well known. 

In the vase before us, the word may refer to some one who had 
been initiated in the Dionysiac mysteries. The allusion to the rites 
of Bacchus is not only found on vases, lamps, and ornaments deposited 
in tombs, but the sides of the sepulchral Latomia are often seen 
sculptured with symbols and figures relating to that deity. One of 
these monuments may be observed at Misitra near the site of Sparta ; 
Bacchus is also figured on the Mensce sepulchrales. These devices 
and symbols are explained by considering that Bacchus and Sol were 
in the ancient mythology one and the same god. This was the 
opinion of the Eleans, (see Etym. M. in v. Awvtrog) and of the 
Athenians* ; and in one of the Orphic hymns we read 

"HXiog ov Aiovvtrov STriKXrjtrtv kaXsoiiTi. 

Reference is therefore made in such sepulchral monuments to 
Dionysius, or Sol inferus. 

The flowing hair, the thyrsus, the spotted garment, (crriKTrj ^Xa^u?,) 
the Ionic capital on the altar, (Vitruv. 1. i.) all refer to a Dionysiac 
procession. The figure near the altar bears a sistrum, which has 



* See one of the arguments of the oration against Midias. 
T T 2 



324 



ANTIQUITIES OF ATHENS. 



the Form of a mirror. A sistrum of similar shape is represented on 
a cymbalum in the Pittur. Hercol. T. i. Tav. 15. 

Sigillarium. 

This is one of the Sigillaria of the ancient mythology of Greece, 
symbolic of some deity respected by the early inhabitants of that 
country, [adorare ca pro Diis. Arnob. 1. 1.) When they were of 
small size, they were carried about ; and we find instances of this 
superstitious custom frequently among the ancients. They were of 
different dimensions ; and not always small images, as has been 
supposed by some writers. See Cuper, Harp. 86. 

The original figure from which the engraving is made is of stone, 
and is remarkable for its great antiquity ; it was found by the Earl of 
Aberdeen in a tomb in Attica. From its stiff and inexpressive form, 
(vvpfiepviKus rotg iron,) it appears to belong to an sera preceding the 
time of Daedalus of Sicyon, who is said to have lived in the interval 
between 700 and 600 B.C. The position of the arms plainly points 
it out to be a representation of some deity ; in this manner 
the Agathodaemon, and other Egyptian idols were depicted and 
sculptured ; brachia decussatim composita. It may be a representation 
of AQooMrq a goddess whose worship was familiar to the Greeks, 
before even that of Jupiter. " Venus etiam ipso Jove antiquior sub 
AfyoiiTvis nomine a Grcecis censebatur, ut docet SchoL ad 3 Argon. 
Apollon." See Selden, de D. Syris. 



( 325 ) 



EXTRACT FROM A LETTER RECEIVED BY THE EDITOR FROM S.LUSIERI; 

DATED ATHENS, 1813, 

RELATING TO THE EXCAVATIONS MADEBY HIM NEAR THAT CITY, AND TO THE 
VASES, AND OTHER ORNAMENTS FOUND IN THE TOMBS. 

Dans les excavations faites hors lesmurs anciens de la ville, et par- 
tout alentour, j'ai trouve des tombeaux sans vases, et avec. On y 
trouve des urnes aussi, et bien souvent sans vases ; elles sont de 
marbre Pentelique, et bien travaillees. On a bonne fortune, mais pas 
toutes les fois, lorsqu'on trouve des petites urnes de terre cuite, 
appartenant a des enfans ; en general il y a des vases dans l'interieur 
de l'urne, et en dehors tout alentour j il semble que c'etoit un usage 
de placer a cote du mort tout ce qui lui servit d'entretenement pendant 
sa vie, y ayant de toutes especes d'animaux en terre cuite, des petites 
figures, et de bien petits vases, en tout genre. Ce qu'il y a de 
singulier, c'est que j'y ai trouve des vases au fond blanc avec des 
figures peintes en couleurs, qui representent la mere d'un cdte 
apportant au tombeau avec ses mains la petite urne ornee alentour 
avec des festons, ayant des feuillages peints en noir, et les petits 
vases et d'autres feuillages aussi en noir poses a leur place. De 
l'autre cote du tombeau peint sur le vase, le pere de l'enfant, une 
main sur ses cheveux, comme s'il vouloit les arracher par l'exces 
de sa douleur. Ce vase a un pied et trois pouces de hauteur ; sa 
forme est tres-elegante. Dans ces memes excavations j'ai trouve 
de grands vases, avec des ornemens peints au dehors, fermes par 
une tasse de cuivre, qui contenoient des ossemens et armes bmles, 
qu'on avoit plies expressement pour les placer dans les vases. En 
d'autres endroits, des sarcophages places un sur l'autre, presque tous 
ayant six pieds et trois pouces de longueur. En general, ces 
tombeaux sont situes d'orient, a, Foccident ; mais ce n'est pas toujours 
de meme. On en trouve a differentes profondeurs ; j'en ai vu qui 
alloient a 40 pieds sous terre dans lesquels j'ai trouve de tres-beaux 
vases. 



( 326 ) 



ACCOUNT OF THE OPENING OF A TUMULUS, SITUATED ON THE ROAD 
FROM THE PIRAEUS TO ATHENS. 

[BY MR. FAUVEL. — COMMUNICATED BY DR. HUNT.] 

Sur le chemin du Piree a Athenes, a, une demi-lieue de cette ville 
on appercoit entre les longues murailles un Tumulus. L'endroit 
ou se trouve le tumulus est nomme par les cultivateurs des vig- 
nobles voisins, Basilike. Ce tombeau est de la meme forme que 
ceux du rivage de Troie ; il leur ressemble encore par les divers 
objets qu'il recelait. Notre collegue (Fauvel) y a remarque des 
poteries brisees, des ossemens, des fragmens de bronze. Son ele- 
vation est de huit metres au-dessus du sol antique, sur lequel il 
a trouve les restes du Bucher, dans l'etat ou il fut eteint. 

Le diametre de ce bucher etoit d'environ trois metres et demi. 
Apres avoir ete decouvert en entier par M. Fauvel, il a offert a 
celui-ci une couche de tres-gros charbons de bois d'olivier, d'osse- 
mens a demi-bmles, ou totalement reduits en cendres, et entre- 
meles de quantite de fragmens de vases, de plats, d'amphores. Les 
plats sont de cette terre antique, enduite de ce meme vernis noir 
que Ton voit sur les vases* Etrusques ; ils ne sont ornes d'aucune 



* The word strictly appropriated to the painted vases of the ancients is AjjxuSoi ; they 
were so frequently deposited in the tombs at Athens, as we learn from some passages of the 
ancient writers, that we cannot be surprised at the discoveries made by some antiquaries, in 
their researches in that city, who have found many of them formed into various shapes, and 
painted with different devices. Aristophanes, in his ExxA. alludes to them more than once. 
" Who is that person ?" says one of the old women : — " He who paints the XyxvQoi for 
the dead," is the answer of the young man. 

r £> » _ _' . 

OUTOJ 6 H£7Tt T!£ , 



* Brown. , Paternoster Ron-. 



EXCAVATIONS IN ATTICA. 



327 



peinture ; mais ils portent a leurs centres et au dedans, des em- 
preintes de cet ornement connu aujourd'hui, et employe partout 
sous le nom de Palmettes. Au milieu des restes du bucher etoient 
deux especes de plateaux, ou masses cylindriques et applaties, qui 
paroissent avoir ete formees en terre cuite sur le bucher meme ; 
ce dont notre collegue est convain9u, en observant l'empreinte que 
les buches et leur ecorce y ont laisse. Ces plateaux sont colores en 
bleu d'azur sur leur epaisseur ; leur diametre est d' environ trois 
decimetres. 

Parmi les charbons etoient des cornes de bceuf a, demi consumes ; 
des os de mouton et de chevre ; des os de poulets, des arretes de 
poisson, plusieurs autres debris du repas funebre, et du sacrifice ; 
enfin des plateaux a pied, propres a porter une coupe ; on y 
voyoit aussi des laines de cuivre fort minces, et semblables a, des 
feuilles de laurier. II est probable qu'elles avoient ete dorees, 
ainsi que des especes de perles en terre cuite, de six lignes de 
diametre qui paroissent avoir servi a parer des victimes. 

II y avoit encore des feuilles d'or* aussi fines, aussi bien battues 



Again in v. 537, " You went away, (says Blepyrus,) and left me, as it were dead ; only you 
did not crown me, nor put a vase upon me ;" ouS' iiriOficra. Arfxutfov. 

The names of the painters of the ancient vases, are sometimes found upon them ; we 
meet with those of Taleides, Asteas, and Kalippos. The imperfect tirom was, as Pliny in- 
forms us, the tense used by the ancient artists ; but we meet with k-ofyo-ev, as well as sypatyev ; 
the former occurs on a vase belonging to Mr. Hope ; the latter on one in the collection of 
M. Valetta. — (Millin, D. de B. A. i. 550.) 

Among the vases found in the ancient tombs of Greece, Italy, and Sicily, are seen, those 
which have been termed Lacrymatories. The supposition that they were intended to re- 
ceive the tears of the relatives or parents of the deceased, is now rejected by the most 
intelligent antiquaries. They contained, it is probable, substances, or oils which were 
poured over the ashes of the deceased. — Editor. 

* M. Fauvel in a letter to Barbie du Bocage describes the result of some excavations 
made by him in the ancient sepulchres. " J'y ai trouve des feuilles d'or battues en forme 
de langue de serpent, et des lames de cuivre, sur lesquelles on lit le nom du mort." One 
of the inscriptions found in these tombs was in Boustrophedon, TOIAI3M. Among the 
ashes in the urns, he always observed the obolus ; in one instance, the piece of money was 
found in the mouth of the corpse. — Mag. En. Mars, 1812. 



328 



EXCAVATIONS IN ATTICA. 



que les notres ; et des portions de dorure parfaitement brulees, et 
employees sur un enduit a la colle. 

Au bord et autour du bucher etoient des vases de terre gros- 
siers, semblables a nos pots a fleurs ; ces vases etoient renverses, et 
poses sur leurs orifices ; ce sont les seuls qui se soient trouves 
entiers. L'epaisseur du Tumulus, que notre collegue a ouvert par 
le haut, en faisant une espece de puits, contenait quelques jolis 
fragmens des vases peints, sur l'un desquels on avoit represents une 
jeune femme, portant une cassette sur la tete ; d'autres fragmens 
d'un assez grand diametre etoient ornes des feuilles de laurier, ou 
d'olivier. * 



* This kind of ornament refers to the custom of placing an olive crown on the deceased. 
Mortuis stadio vitae decurso tanquam victoribus corona olivae solebat imponi. See 
Hemsterh. Lucian, i. 156. 



( 329 ) 



THE PLAIN OF MARATHON. * 

[FROM THE PAPERS OF THE LATE COLONEL SQUIRE.] 

Marathon, multarum magnarumque virtutum testis. — P. Mela. 

In the year subsequent to the failure of Mardonius, a considerable 
force was assembled by order of the Persian monarch, and embarked 
from the province of Cilicia in Asia Minor. Thence the fleet coasted 
along the shores of that country as far as Samos ; and crossing, the 
iEgsean sea, it passed through the islands between Ionia and Greece. 
After the Persians had taken possession of Euboea, where they were 
delayed seven days by the opposition of the inhabitants of Eretria, 
the army was re-embarked, and a landing immediately effected in 
the plain of Marathon, on the opposite shores of Attica. 

There was every reason to induce the Persians to make their 
descent near Marathon. Along the whole extent of the Attic coast, 
from the frontiers of Boeotia to the bay of Phalerum, there was no 
other spot but Marathon, which at once united the advantages of 
safe anchorage, and a plain sufficiently large to contain great 
numbers, and to afford room for cavalry to act. The shore in this 
part forms a fine bay of very gradual soundings, of a good anchoring 
ground, and protected in some degree by the land of Euboea from the 
sudden and boisterous storms of the Archipelago. The extent of 
the shore is upwards of seven miles, presenting a shelving, sandy 
beach, free from rocks and shoals, and well calculated for debarkation. 
The land bordering on the bay is an uninterrupted plain, about two 
miles and a half in width, and bounded by rocky, difficult heights 



* Reference to the plan of the Field of Marathon. Length of base, a b, 3080 yards; 
D. marsh; B. Brauron; M.Marathon; S. C. the villages of Sefeeree and Bey; L. salt 
lake ; T. tumulus ; H. wood of pine trees ; P. mountain of Pan. 

U U 



330 



THE PLAIN OF MARATHON. 



which enclose it at either extremity ; though to the south west, the 
mountains, which are a branch of Pentelicus, and are higher than in 
any other part, have a more gradual slope towards the sea, and are 
covered with low pine-trees and brush-wood. About the centre of 
the bay a small stream, which flows from the upper part of the 
valley of Marathon, discharges itself into the sea by three shallow 
channels. A narrow rocky point, projecting from the shore, forms 
the north east part of the bay, close to which is a salt stream 
connected with a shallow lake, and a great extent of marsh land. 
About one mile and a half south of the river of Marathon is another 
inconsiderable rivulet of fresh water, flowing also from a marsh by 
no means so extensive as the other. From the north east point of 
the bay, on a low narrow sandy ridge extends a wood of the Pinus 
Pinea for a space of two miles along the shore ; in the rear of this, 
the plain is a continued marsh, reaching as far as the modern village 
Souli ; probably the ancient Tricorythus, which formed with CEnoe, 
Probalinthus, and Marathon, the Tetrapolis of Attica.* 

The other part of the plain, except the small marsh to the south- 
ward, consists of uninclosed and level corn land, with a few olive 
and wild pear-trees. The village, called Marathona, which is situated 
in a narrow valley of nearly uniform breadth opening into the plain, 
is rather more than three miles from the sea. This valley is in 
general three quarters of a mile in breadth, and is bounded on either 
side by difficult heights ; on the south side it is separated from 
another small valley, which however is itself enclosed with rocky 
eminences ; and appears as a bay connected with the plain ; while 
the valley of Marathon may be compared to a creek or inlet into the 
interior. At the foot of the mountain, on the south side of the 
plain, is a small hamlet called Vrana, supposed by some to be on the 



* Another town named CEnoe was near Eleuthcrae; see Harpocrat. and Wesseling in 
D. Sic. torn. i. 305. Colonel Leake mentions the vestiges which mark the site of an 
ancient Demos in the valley above the village of Marathona. They are called Ninoe. — 
Researches, p. 420. 



THE PLAIN OF MARATHON. 



331 



site of the ancient Brauron * ; at the entrance of the valley of 
Marathon from the plain are two small villages called Bey and Sifeeri. 
The modern Marathon contains a few Zevgaria, and is peopled by 
about 200 inhabitants ; the houses of the peasants are in the midst 
of gardens, planted with apricot trees, vines, and olives. They are 
watered from a copious fountain about a mile above the village, 
surrounded by a circular foundation of ancient masonry ; the only 
remains f of antiquity which we could discover near a place once 
distinguished as Ivxti^ev^v MHpd$m& The stream derived from the 
fountain, the Macaria of Pausanias, passes down the valley parallel 
to the river, to the distance of three quarters of a mile ; and is then 
conducted across the river in a wooden trough, and continues its 
course to the village, where it is employed in the gardens. Above 
the fountain is a small detached rocky height, at the summit of 
which is a cavern with a low entrance, and naturally divided into 
several compartments ; this, according to Pausanias, may be the 
mountain and grotto of Pan, though it would be difficult to conceive 
the slightest resemblance in the rocks to goats or sheep, mentioned 
by that author in his Grecian tour. From Marathona to Athens is a 
march of about seven hours, in a S. W. direction, and the first part 
of the road is through an unequal, rocky, and rather a difficult 
country ; over a ridge, which connects Pentelicus with the eastern 
extremity of Parnes, and therefore corresponds with the situation of 



* At the western extremity of the valley, where Brauron is placed, Col. Squire has 
noticed in his plan the ruins of a marble monument. The Editor supposes that in this 
portion of the plain part of a Greek inscription was found by M. Fauvel. The words he 
had copied were the following : 

OMONOIAS A0ANAT . . 

nTAH 
HPi2AOYOXi2P03 
EI20NEISEPXE . . 
There appears to be some reference to Herodes Atticus who died at Marathon. 

f The columns in the marsh observed by Dr. Clarke are probably part of the temple of 
the Hellotian Minerva, so called from the marsh on the plain ; the temple of the Delian 
Apollo, and one of Hercules, are mentioned by the ancient writers. — Schol. Pind. 
Olymp. xiii. Herod, vi. 

U U 2 



332 



THE PLAIN OF MARATHON. 



the ancient Brilessus. Beyond is the extensive plain of Athens, 
which reaches from Mount Pentelicus to the sea. 

As soon as the Athenians received intelligence that the Persians 
had actually landed in their country they marched against them. 
Of the exact number on either side Herodotus makes no mention ; 
according to Plutarch (in Parall.) and Valerius Maximus, the forces 
of the enemy amounted to 300,000; Justin reckons them to be 
600,000; and Cornelius Nepos (in vita Milt.) makes them ten times 
the number of the Athenians, or about 100,000. The amount of 
the Grecian force must have been of universal notoriety ; the battle 
of Marathon was doubtless the most important event in the history of 
Athens; it was ever afterwards the pride and boast of the Athenians; 
and might be considered no less than the fight at Artemisium, as 
y.pyirk IxevQepetg, (Pindar) " the foundation of their freedom ;" surely 
then the recollection of every minute circumstance of that engage- 
ment would be fondly cherished to the last hour of the republic. 
Although therefore Herodotus does not relate the numbers in the 
Grecian army, the authority of Plutarch, Cornelius Nepos, and 
Pausanias on this head may be accepted without hesitation ; for 
though these authors differ with regard to the Persian army, they 
uniformly agree in stating the Athenian force at Marathon to have 
been 9000 men*, besides 1000 Plataeans, who alone of the other 
Grecian states bore a part in the engagement. Pausanias particularly 
observes (in Phoc.) that in this statement of the Athenian force 
the slaves were also included. An army of 10,000 men was but an 
inconsiderable force to oppose to the Persians, unless this amazing 
inferiority was counterbalanced by some local advantages. The 
Greeks therefore when they arrived at Marathon, would not descend 
into the plain to expose themselves to be surrounded by numbers, 



* Mr. Mitford in his History of Greece (i. 365.) supposes the regular Grecian forces 
engaged at the battle of Marathon to consist of greater numbers than those mentioned in 
the text. He adds some thousand slaves to the Athenian army ; whereas Pausanias iri- 
eludes them in the number 9000. A0>jv«/oi <ruv hovhoi; Ivvicuxta-^iKiuiv oKpUono 6v Trkelovg. — 
Phoc. 



THE PLAIN OF MARATHON. 



333 



and afterwards destroyed by the cavalry, they would surely take a 
position, securing their flanks as much as possible, while they pre- 
sented but a small front towards the enemy. The valley of Marathon 
offered to the Athenians as favourable a spot for engaging as could be 
desired. While they could fight the enemy on equal terms, a body 
so well trained and disciplined, and commanded by such able 
generals as the Athenians were, would have little hesitation to 
oppose themselves to the most spirited efforts of the barbarians. 
The Athenians also had powerful motives to animate and encourage 
them; their liberty, their existence were at stake; while the 
numerous hordes of the enemy, unacquainted with their officers, and 
prompted by different interests would easily relax in the fight, and 
be overpowered by the firm and daring courage of the Athenians. 
On the first view, indeed, the conduct of the Greeks in marching 
out from the city, and thus risking their country in this single 
engagement, appears wholly desperate ; though when their situation 
is considered, it must be allowed that their councils were dictated 
by prudence and reason. To have opposed the debarkation of the 
Persians would have been absurd and fruitless ; had they suffered 
the enemy to advance into the plain of Athens, their country would 
most probably have been lost ; for rto situation between the city and 
the place of landing could afford so many advantages for an en- 
gagement as the valley of Marathon. Had the Athenians shut 
themselves up in Athens, the Persians, in full possession of the 
open country, would soon have compelled them to surrender; so 
that, all things considered, the Athenians seem to have adopted the 
wisest measure by deciding resolutely to occupy the pass on the 
principal road towards the capital. 

The armies of the Athenians were commanded by ten generals, 
according to the number of their tribes, each of whom was in his 
turn commander-in-chief of the day. To these was added the Pole- 
march, an officer who had the privilege of giving a casting vote in the 
event of a difference of opinion on the plan of operations. In the 



i 



334 THE PLAIN OF MARATHON. 

present instance the sentiments of the ten generals were divided, five 
being averse to an engagement; which the remainder strongly 
recommended. Miltiades, who was the youngest in rank, though 
highest in reputation, zealous in the cause of his country, and con- 
vinced in his own mind that the wisest course was to engage, gained 
Callimachus, who was then Polemarch, over to his opinion, and it was 
resolved to attack the enemy. Plutarch observes, that Aristides was 
of the same way of thinking with Miltiades, and was of great assist- 
ance in persuading the rest. When the decisive moment arrived, he 
disposed his forces in the following manner ; Callimachus commanded 
the right wing ; for by a law this post was always confided to the 
Polemarch ; beginning from the right flank the tribes were placed in 
the line according to their order ; the Plataeans were on the left. 
Miltiades formed his front equal to that of the Medes, weakening in- 
deed his centre, in which were only the tribes Leontis and Antiochis 
(the first commanded by Themistocles, the second by Aristides), that 
he might strengthen the wings. 

No other situation at Marathon, but in the valley itself, could have 
afforded him the great advantage of making his line equal to that of 
the enemy. The space which it is conjectured was occupied by the 
Greeks was about 1500 yards in length ; on computing that each 
soldier occupied three feet, there would consequently be, 1500 men in 
the first line. From the weakness of their numbers, and the extent 
of ground they were obliged to occupy, they could not afford that 
great depth to their line which was always customary, and would in 
this instance have been very important. Miltiades therefore wisely 
took from his centre, that he might give greater strength to his flanks. 

When the sacrifices appeared favourable for commencing the en- 
gagement, the Greeks rushed forward in full charge against the bar- 
barians. Between the van of each army there was a space of not 
less than eight stadia, about three quarters of a mile. The Persians 
when they perceived the Greeks in motion, immediately prepared to 
receive them, for they considered such conduct as the height of folly, 

r 



THE PLAIN OF MARATHON. 



3^5 



andthe certain cause of destruction to the Greeks, who, without *cavalry 
or archers, pressed forward to the attack with such violent impetuosity. 
The latter however when they came hand to hand with the barbarians, 
fought in a manner most worthy to be recorded ; they were the first, 
says the historian, of all the Greeks who advanced in full charge (Le 
pas de charge, Larcher,) against their enemies, and none before had 
ever sustained the Medes, and the terrific appearance of their dress. 
In the representation of this battle by Micon, the Persians were 
painted taller than the Athenians ; and the artist was fined thirty 
minse; but he was probably correct in his design, as the Oriental dress 
must have given to the Asiatics the appearance of greater height. j~ 

In the early part of the engagement, the centre of the Greeks was 
obliged to fall back and was pursued up the country by the Persians 
and the Sacae ; but on either wing fortune favored the Greeks ; 
and here they overcame, routed the barbarians, and compelled 
them to fly. Those who had turned their backs they at first 
allowed to retire unmolested ; so that the Greeks uniting their 
victorious wings, attacked and defeated those of the enemy who 
had been successful in the centre. The rout now became general : 
the Persians retreated in confusion towards the beach, to regain, if 
possible, their shipping ; and vast numbers were slain by the Greeks 
who constantly pursued them. Pausanias (lib. i, cap. 15.) describes a 
painting at Athens in the Peisanactean portico by Panaenus, the 
brother of Phidias, representing the battle of Marathon, and in 
which are observed the Persians flying in every direction across the 
plain, and driving one another into the marsh. In a second passage 



* The earliest mention we find in history of cavalry in the Greek armies, is of the date 
743 B. C, the time of the first Messenian war. At Marathon the Athenians had no force 
of this kind, as Thessaly, the country from which many of the Grecian states were sup- 
plied with horses, was in the power of the Persians. — See Goguet. iii. 151. 

f Sopater. see Valesius in not. Mauss. Harpocration. 123. On a frize of a temple at 
Athens was sculptured the representation of a battle between the Persians and Athenians, 
the former were distinguished by their long garments and tiaras and Phrygian bonnets. — 
See p. 20. Memorandum of Lord Elgin's Pursuits in Greece. 



336 



THE PLAIN OR MARATHON. 



of the Attics, Pausanias particularly mentions the marsh at Marathon, 
and as connected with the sea by a small stream of salt water. 
This description corresponds most minutely with the ground in the 
north east extremities of the plain. The remainder of the Persian 
army embarked as hastily as possible, and doubling Cape Sunium 
sailed towards Phalerum with the hopes of anticipating the Athenians, 
and of taking the city before the army could return from Marathon. 

The Athenians, however, having left the tribe Antiochis com- 
manded by Aristides, to guard the wounded and prisoners, and to collect 
the spoil, marched instantly for Athens, so that the Persians being dis- 
appointed of their object, returned with their fleet to the coast of Asia. 

According to the historian, there fell of the Athenians one hun- 
dred and ninety-two ; while the loss on the part of the barbarians 
amounted to six thousand four hundred : seven of the ships were 
also burnt or destroyed by the Greeks. Callimachus, the Polemarch, 
was among the slain, as was also the commander Cynaegirus, the 
brother of the poet iEschylus. 

It was a custom with the Athenians to bury those who were slain 
in battle, or to erect columns to their memory, in a place called the 
Ceramicus, " the most beautiful suburb of their city," to use the words 
of Thucydides ; but as a particular mark of distinction, three monu- 
ments were erected at Marathon, in honor of the event of the battle; 
one was raised to the memory of the Athenians, who fell in it; another 
recorded the valour of the Plateans, and the slaves who fought : a 
third was the monument of Miltiades. — Paus. At this day may be 
seen towards the middle of the plain a large tumulus of earth, 25 feet 
in height, resembling those on the plain of Troy. In a small marsh 
near the sea, are the vestiges of ten monuments with marble foun- 
dations, and fragments of columns, which, it may be conjectured, 
marked the tombs of the Athenians. 



( 337 ) 



REMARKS 

ON 

PARTS OF THE CONTINENT OF GREECE. 

[FROM THE PAPERS OF THE LATE COLONEL SQUIRE.] 

The chief communications between Athens and the neighbouring 
districts, were across Cithaeron into Boeotia; by Decelea, through 
Tanagra to Euboea ; into the Peloponnesus by Eleusis and Megara. 

In the first route, one traverses the plain of Athens, through the 
olive grounds, to the foot of Parnes, a distance of about seven miles from 
the city. After an hour's gentle ascent over a rugged road in the moun- 
tain, on an abrupt isolated rock, a short distance to the left, the strong- 
hold*, Phyle, often mentioned in the history of Athens, is observed. 
Having crossed Parnes, you reach a small plain, in which are the ruins 
of Eleutherae-, then the road ascends Cithaeron, through a narrow 
rock and winding gorge, on which are the remains of an ancient 
fortress in a very commanding situation. From the summit of 
Cithaeron, by the road called the Three-heads, is the descent into the 
plain of Boeotia, a distance of seven hours from Athens, in a north 
west direction. 

The Athenians derived a great part of their supplies from Euboea ; 
the route was to the north of Athens, between Pentelicus and 
Parnes : and here was the strong fort Decelea. -j- From Attica, there 



* ippovpiov o^vpo'v. Stephanus ; see Corsini F. A. Diss. v. 

f "Decelea, according to Thucydides, was about 120 stadia from Athens; that is, 
20 stadia further fiom Athens than Phyle (Diodorus, torn. i. 667- Wesseling), and in a 
different direction, being on the other side of Parnes, for it was on the road to Oropus, 
and interrupted the communication by land between Athens and Eubcea. There is some 

X X 



338 



REMARKS ON PARTS OF GREECE. 



is another road to Euboea, along the sea-side from Marathon ; from 
this place to Athens is a distance of eight hours ; three of which are 
through the plain north of the city, after this, the road leads over low 
and rugged heights covered with pine-trees and shrubs, until Marathon 
presents itself, in a narrow valley with a plain, about three miles 
wide, between the village and the sea. From Athens to the Pelo- 
ponnesus, the route is through Eleusis and Megara, for the most part 
along the shore of the gulf ; after having traversed the plain in 
an hour and a half between Corydallus and Parnes, in a small valley, 
which leads immediately to the sea, is the convent Daphne, where 
are two or three inscriptions, and blended with the modern building, 
columns of the Ionic order, the remains of the temple of Venus. 
Hence, in a quarter of an hour is the descent to the sea, called YLaavi 
<nc«'*a*, the bad road; from this point to the streams Rhiti, is the 
distance of a mile and a half. The road has been formed in the rock 
close to the sea, and in many places are perceived the marks made 
by the carriage wheels. After the Rhiti, which are insignificant 
streams, commences the plain of Thria or Eleusis; from the Rhiti to 
Eleusis, is the distance of an hour and a half. The plan of the great 
Temple of Ceres *f , may in part be accurately traced. The plain of 
Eleusis about eight miles long, and four in width, is almost entirely 



high level ground of considerable extent in this direction, over which the road still leads 
from Athens to the village of Oropo. Now the nearest distance of Athens from the foot of 
Parnes is 1 1 English miles, or about 110 stadia: we may therefore expect to discover the 
remains of Decelea at the distance of 10 stadia farther; and on the spurs of that mountain. 
Here in fact Stuart has noticed some ruins of ancient Greek walls, which both he and Sir 
W. Gell believe to be the walls of Decelea. The spot bears the significative appellation 
of ^wjjto-xAe'fSia." — Mr. Hawkins. 

* Les Grecs la nomment encore aujourd'hui Kakiscala. — Des Mouceaux. 
f The temple was destroyed by Alaric in 396. Ac. Ins. t. 47. The remains have 
been carefully examined by the mission sent into Greece in 1 SI 2, by the Dilettanti society. 
The cellawas about 1 80 feet square, with a portico of 12 Doric columns, of more than 
six feet in diameter. The fragment of the Eleusinian Goddess now at Cambridge, was 
first noticed by Des Mouceaux. " L'Ouvrage," he says, speaking of the sculpture of part of 
it, " ou est acheve la draperie, fait des plisd'un gout merveilleux." 



REMARKS ON PARTS OF GREECE. 



339 



cultivated with barley. From Eleusis to Megara, a distance of 
four hours, the road traverses first a low height, until the 
country of Megara soon appears with the town on two small 
eminences, about two miles from the sea ; here are few vestiges of 
antiquity ; but it appears, that as at Athens, long walls connected the 
port with the town. The nearest road to the Isthmus is along the 
sea-shore, and the Scironian rocks, rugged and difficult ; the Turks 
have here established a Dervent or guard-house, to prevent contraband 
commerce in the Morea, and no one is allowed to pass without an ex- 
press order from the Pasha of Tripolizza. The ordinary route from 
Megara, is along the north side of the mountain, which forms the 
first barrier to the Isthmus, until it joins the grand line of com- 
munication from the Morea, with the northern provinces of Greece. 
Here is a Dervent, and hence the road traverses the mountain, 
through a high irregular broken country, continually descending until 
it meets the low, though uneven ground of the Isthmus. From 
Eleusis is a road into Boeotia two hours across the plain to the north, 
then through a part of Mount Parnes ; beyond is the plain of 
Eleutherae ; and here the road from Eleusis joins the ordinary route 
from Athens by Phyle into Boeotia. 

Boeotia consists for the most part of the extensive plain enclosed 
by Cithaeron, Helicon, Parnassus, and the mountainous country of 
the Locrians on the sea of Euboea. This plain is intersected by low 
ridges of a bare and rocky soil, so that Boeotia may be sub-divided 
into the plains of Plataea, Leuctra, Thebes, Lebadea, and Chaeronaea. 
The well-watered plains of Chaeronaea and Lebadea, and the land 
bordering on the Lake Copais are chiefly sown with rice, cotton, and 
doura, and a small proportion of tobacco ; the other districts with 
wheat and barley. The soil of Boeotia is rich and productive, and 
from Thebes, the unworthy representative of the ancient capital, a 
considerable quantity of grain is annually exported. 

Boeotia is well supplied with water by the numerous springs from 
the mountains, besides its rivers, which notwithstanding as in other 
parts of Greece, they are small inconsiderable streams, are more 

x x 2 



340 



REMARKS ON PARTS OF GREECE. 



full and constant. The rapid little river Hercyna has its rise in 
Helicon above Lebadea, and after being augmented by the fountains 
Lethe and Mnemosyne, near the supposed site of the cave of Tro- 
phonius, flows through the rice grounds, and discharges itself into the 
Lake Copais. The Cephissus has its rise in Mount (Eta, fertilizes 
the plain of Phocis, then entering that of Chseronsea, through a 
narrow gorge between a part of Parnassus and the country of the 
Locrians, meets the lake Copais in the neighbourhood of Orcho- 
menus. This lake has subterranean communications with the sea : 
in summer, instead of a sheet of water, it has the appearance of an 
extensive green meadow. Topoglia, the supposed ancient Copse, 
is a small insulated eminence at the north-east extremity, and is 
approachable from the plain by a causeway. The lake is about 
twelve miles in circuit. Bceotia with its rich soil, and a continual 
supply of water, had local advantages which Attica did not possess ; 
there was greater opulence, more numerous cities, and a larger 
population than in the latter. 

Lebadea, now pronounced Livadea, is placed at the entrance of a 
rocky ravine, on the north side of Helicon. From some small masses 
of ancient foundations, it is imagined that the site of the original 
city was a short distance from the present town, and immediately on 
the plain. The little river Hercyna rushes through the rocky 
irregular bottom of the ravine, and receives an increase of water 
from the fountains near the cave of Trophonius. On the left side of 
the river above the town, and at the foot of a rocky height surrounded 
by a Turkish fortress in a very ruinous state, is an artificial excavation 
about twelve feet square, and eight in height: on the upper part are 
still seen the remains of an ancient coloured border similar to that 
which is observed on the walls of the Parthenon, and in the temple 
of Theseus at Athens. In front of the grotto is a powerful spring 
discharging itself by eleven artificial pipes into a small basin ; the 
water of which afterwards overflows and joins the river ; on the 
opposite side is another fountain which bubbles up from the ground, 



REMARKS ON PARTS OF GREECE. 



341 



forming immediately a square reservoir, which connects also with 
the Hercyna. 

Scripoo*, the ancient Orchomenus, is placed immediately on 
the Lake Copais, at the foot of a mountain about seven miles east 
of Livadea ; it may contain from three to four hundred in- 
habitants. In the church and court of the convent of Scripoo 
are many long and valuable inscriptions. Immediately at the 
lower part of the rocky height above Scripoo, is a large block 
of marble, supported by two upright walls, apparently the en- 
trance of a building, f A perfect structure on a similar design now 
exists at Mycenae, so that from a comparison of the two, it may be 
fairly concluded, that one was the treasury of Atreus, the other of 
Minyas; at Mycenae the building is of stone, at Orchomenus of 
marble. In consequence of the excavations made by Lord Elgin, the 
treasury of Atreus is a recent discovery ; previously to this, Mr. 
Tweddell, who died at Athens in the midst of his researches^:, had 
ingeniously conjectured, that the large stone at Scripoo, had once 
formed part of the celebrated treasury of Minyas, and his opinion 
has been since confirmed by the examination of that at Mycenae. 
On the height above the village, are vestiges of the ancient walls of 
Orchomenus, with a sort of citadel .on the summit of the mountain ; 
the plan of it may be very accurately traced ; on the east side of the 



* " I rode up the hill, with difficulty, to the acropolis of Orchomenus, ascending a 
slope which probably was the scene of Sylla's battle. The walls of the citadel are well 
built, in the best style of masonry and without cement. The citadel is long and narrow, 
adapted to the shape of the ridge ; a long flight of steps hewn in the rock leads to the 
town, which extended in a triangular form down the lower part of the slope to the plain 
below. The lake seems to have gained considerably on the land : on the eastern side it 
came up to the foot of the mountain, and left but a small space in front." — From 
Mr. Raikes. 

f The measures of the door-way and the great stone above it, were sent to the Editor, 
by Mr. Hawkins. They are given in another part of this volume. 

X In medio flore interceptus, fructus quos ex doctrina ejus nobis certissimos spondeba- 
mus, maturare et emittere non potuit. — Salmasius Praef. ad Tab. Cebetis. 



342 



REMARKS ON PARTS OF GREECE. 



mountain, which is here bounded by the Lake Copais, are two very 
copious springs. 

Chasronaea, now called Caprena, is placed at the foot of that range 
of heights which forms the western limit of the plain traversed by the 
Cephissus, before it discharges itself into the Copaic Lake. Here are 
a few inscriptions, and on the height north of the town, are the re- 
mains of a Greek fortress, which probably was once the acropolis. 
At the east extremity of this height, where it meets the plain, are 
vestiges of an ancient theatre, with several seats excavated in the 
rock. The site of Coronea, it is imagined, is now occupied by the 
little village Granizza, at the foot of Helicon, about two miles east 
of Livadea ; here is a tower about twenty feet square, of ancient and 
most solid construction. North-west of Plataea, in a small plain 
bounded to the west by Helicon, are traced the ancient foundations 
of an oval enclosure, which probably was the situation of Leuctra ; an 
insignificant village of five houses, adjoining the spot, called Lef ka, 
in some degree confirms the conjecture ; here are two inscriptions, 
and more in the village called Erimo Castro in the heights north of 
Lefka. Between Plataea and Leuctra is a considerable plain, which 
from two tumuli near the road, may be supposed to have been the 
scene of the engagement between Epaminondas and the Spartans. — 
On the irregular ground, the roots of Cithaeron, are the remains of 
the ancient fortifications of Plataea, containing within them, though 
on level ground, a semicircular enceinte, (one side of the outer walls 
forming the chord) which perhaps was the acropolis ; here are some 
fragments of columns and masses of masonry, and several very ancient 
sarcophagi, without the city. The village Kokle, containing about 
one hundred and fifty inhabitants, is above the remains of Plataea. — 
The scene of the celebrated fight at Plataea, was on the north side of 
Cithaeron, a chain of mountains which extending from the iEgaean to 
the Corinthian sea, separates Attica from Bceotia. The chief road of 
communication between these districts passes over the summits of Ci- 
thaeron, which in this part is distinguished by three remarkable points, 



REMARKS ON PARTS OF GREECE. 34# 

anciently called by the Boeotians " The Heads," by the Athenians 
« The Heads of the Oak." . 

Three miles westward of the pass over Cithaeron, are the vestiges 
of the towers and walls of the ancient Plataea ; about half way between 
the descent from Cithaeron, and the remains of the city, is a low ridge 
of heights extending in a north direction from the mountain, and 
bounding the plain of Plataea to the eastward ; from either side of 
this ridge is a descent*, on one side towards the sea of Corinth, on the 
other towards the Euripus ; according to the position of the country, 
the Asopus having its rise in Cithaeron discharges itself into the sea 
of Eubcea, while another river which it may be conjectured was the 
iEroe, also flowing from Cithaeron, has its course through the plain 
of Plataea, passes before the city, and then falls into the gulf of Co- 
rinth, near Livadostro. Both these rivers have separate branches in 
the mountain, and the latter precisely forms the same sort of island, 
so minutely described by the historian, lib. ix. 50. though its streams, 
as those of other Grecian rivers, are merely torrents in the winter ; 
the Asopus, rather more considerable, has stagnant pools in different 
parts of its channel, even throughout the summer; on the left of 
the road leading from the Three Heads to Plataea is a copious foun- 
tain, which, during the summer months, supplies the villages Gon- 
dara and Velia with water. It is now called Vergentiani, and was 
perhaps the Gargaphia in Herodotus. Erythrae may have been 
on the site of the village Pigadhia, and Hysiae on that of Gondara 
and Velia. On the left bank of the Asopus, consisting of perhaps 
thirty hours, is Scamino, which is supposed to have succeeded Tana- 
gra in its situation; here are two inscriptions, which relate to Oropus, 
whereas Oropus was on the other side of the river : while at Oropo, 
which from its situation and name may be pronounced to be the an- 
cient Oropus, are three or four marbles on which Tanagra is mentioned. 



* Consult Mr. Stanhope's Memoir and Plan relating to the country round Platasa. 



344 REMARKS ON PARTS OF GREECE. 

Helicon bounds the plain of Lebadea to the west, joins with Par- 
nassus, and terminates to the south on the gulf of Corinth near Liva- 
dostro. Its presents a bare and rugged appearance : but some of the 
vallies are cultivated in corn, interspersed with orchards of fruit trees, 
the plane, the fig, and the poplar, in abundance. 

Phocis includes the plain of the Cephissus, which connects with 
that of Livadea ; on the north it is bounded by (Eta, on the south by 
Bceotia, on the east side the mountainous country of the Dorians 
separates it from the sea of Eubcea ; the western limit is washed by 
the Corinthian or Crissean gulfs. The soil, watered by the Cephissus, 
which is joined by several smaller streams from Parnassus, is fertile 
and well cultivated in rice, doura, and corn land; the plain of* Crissa 
produces a small quantity of wheat and barley, though it is for the 
most part planted with olive trees. An elevated plain, on which is 
Thistomo, the ancient Ambryssus, seems to connect Parnassus on the 
south with Helicon. To the north the mountains join with (Eta ; op- 
posite to its west side is Mount Cirphis, while its eastern slope is 
presented towards the plain of the Cephissus. The outer aspect of 
Parnassus is rude and without vegetation; it encloses however several 
fruitful valleys, as remarkable for their natural beauties as for their 
cultivation. This mountain is intersected by several roads in different 
directions, which connect the plain of Cephissus with that of Crissa, 
Delphi, and the sea. The road called Schiste, which was the sacred 
way from Attica and Bceotia to Delphi, soon appears after entering 
Parnassus at Daulis ; it commences in a spot where three roads join, 
Tpichq, famed for the sepulchre of (Edipus. Hence the road to 
Delphi branches off to the right, and is continued through an elevated 
narrow valley, either side of which is bounded by the lofty ridges of 



* Cirrha is now called Xeropegano ; the Plistus flowing between the heights of Lia- 
coura and Cirphis passes near it. Crissa (Chriso) contains some remarkable ruins; and 
near a church called Agio Sarandi, is an incription in Boustrophedon ; there is a bas- 
relief in another church, and a lyre represented with 16 strings. — (From M. Gropius.) 



REMARKS ON PARTS OF GREECE. 



345 



Parnassus ; in this part, in the depth of summer, we observed snow 
in a cavity near the summit of the mountain. After an hour and a 
half from the rp<o<&? are perceived the remains of an ancient fortress, 
near which is a fountain ; this part of Parnassus is rugged, with little 
cultivation, though the sides of the mountain are much scattered with 
pine-trees. An hour from the palaio-castro, as this kind of ruin is 
always termed by the modern Greeks, is Rakova, a small village in 
an elevated part of the mountain, commanding a magnificent view ; 
before us, was the valley of Delphi, which was seen in its length, 
confined on one side by Parnassus, on the other by Mount Cirphis ; 
perpendicular to this valley was the plain of Crissa, clouded by its 
olive-yards, bounded by the rude mountainous country of the Ozolae ; 
the fantastic abrupt shapes of Parnassus were well contrasted with 
the luxuriance of the valley, which was a continued plantation of 
vines. Delphi is about five hours from Daulis ; a small village, 
under the appellation of Castri, now occupies the site of this memo- 
rable spot ; it presents a rugged and uneven slope, above which, the 
summits of Parnassus rise abrupt and perpendicular. Here are two 
fountains, probably those of Castalia and Cassotis *, the " vocal 
streams," of which the priestess drank before she uttered her mys- 
terious prophecies. The rock in the vicinity, has been much chisselled 
and excavated ; near a spring, is a square artificial grotto, one of the 
Bacchicse Speluncse mentioned by Macrobius. The head of an ox, 
which is sculptured in a cavern or room in the rock, has a reference 
to Apollo, (v. Huet. D. Ev. iv. c. 8.) Some valuable inscriptions 
have been copied at Delphi f : the remains of the stadium are very 
evident ; but those of the theatre and temple, the latter of which 
was restored at so late a period as the time of the Emperor Julian, 



* That the waters of Cassotis, as well as Castalia were used, is evident from Pausan. 
Lucian. Eurip. See the authorities quoted by Van Dale, de Orac. 130. The " vocal 
streams" are mentioned in part of the response, uttered to Oribasius, Julian's physician. 
Cedren. 250. Ed. Bas. ot-jrea-fieTO xcti \oi\ov vticap. 

f One found by Wheler and Spon, speaks of the privileges of irfosfyi/st, xpofoxia, 
■xpo^ev'tu, and wpopavTeia, (or the right of consulting the oracle first) bestowed on some 
persons. 

Y Y 



346 REMARKS ON PARTS OF GREECE. 

are not to be traced. Immediately above Delphi is another road 
into the plain of the Cephissus, over the highest part of the moun- 
tain, near which must have been Tithorea, and towards the descent 
into the plain Ledon and Charadra. From the parched plains in the 
summer months, the shepherds migrate with their flocks to the 
cooler regions of Parnassus, where a rich pasture, with springs of 
water abounds. The road from Delphi occasionally traverses small 
cultivated plains enclosed with rocky heights ; sometimes detached, 
and continually scattered over with pine trees, affording a wild and 
horrid, though imposing aspect. From the western point of the 
plain of the Cephissus, nearer to Mount (Eta, is a passage by way 
of Salona, the ancient Amphissa, into the plain of Crissa, and to 
Delphi. At the entrance of the mountain is a modern Khan, near 
which are the remains of a fortress, placed on an almost inaccessible 
rock. The descent into the plain of Salona is along a winding, arti- 
ficial road, formed with masonry, on the steep side of a mountain ; 
from this town, the plain of the Cephissus is about three hours 
distant ; it connects with that of Chaeronea. 

ISTHMUS OF CORINTH. 

From Greece into Peloponnesus there are two roads ; the one from 
Megara along a narrow cornice on the Saronic gulf, artificially formed 
in the rocks, which rise perpendicularly from the sea. The ordinary 
route from Bceotia and Attica into the Peloponnesus was over the 
summits of the mountain Gerania, which forms the first barrier of 
the isthmus towards Greece. You enter into a narrow gorge, near 
which is a Dervent, or Turkish guard-house ; afterwards a good 
gravelly road along the slope of a mountain leads to irregular heights, 
covered with pines and brush-wood ; hence the descent is gradual to 
the low, but rocky, uneven ground of the isthmus ; about three miles 
before we arrive at Corinth may be traced the vestiges of a very 
ancient wall, which was built for the defence of the Peloponnesus ; 
this is in the most narrow part of the isthmus ; where it is four short 



ISTHMUS OF CORINTH. 34*7 

miles in width; it consisted as in other Greek fortifications of a 
stone wall with square towers in the intervals between them. On 
the east side of the isthmus for a considerable distance in front of the 
wall, the ground appears low* and swampy, as if an excavation had 
been begun at some remote period to admit the sea water, and thus 
strengthen the position. We read in Herodotus that the Pelopon- 
nesians after the battle of Thermopylae took post at the isthmus, and 
having destroyed the Scironian way, they built a wall across the 
isthmus. From their critical situation, under a dread of an irruption 
from the barbarians into the Peloponnesus, it may be concluded, as 
indeed Herodotus mentions, that the Greeks would lose no time in 
completing their fortifications ; they used all sorts of materials, stones, 
bricks, timber, baskets filled with earth, rather temporary expedients, 
than the means of erecting a solid and permanent barrier. What 
date must we then affix to the remains of the present wallf across the 
isthmus ? — Immediately in front of Corinth are the vestiges of some 
modern field works, constructed by the Venetians for the defence of 
the pass into the Morea ; on the west side they are terminated by a 
square redoubt on the Corinthian gulph near Lechseum, one of the 
ancient ports of the city ; on the east there was no necessity to con- 
tinue these works to the shore, on account of a high and difficult 
mountain between Corinth and the sea. In front of the town is a 
modern village called by the modern Greeks Hexamilia, the isthmus 



* Des Mouceaux, who travelled in 166*8, says, that in some parts it would have been 
necessary to dig the canal to the depth of fifteen toises, " et presque partout de dix, a 
l'exception des deux extremites, ou le terrein se baisse vers la marine." The remains of 
this work will be pointed out by Mr. Hawkins in his account of the survey of the isthmus ; 
he was occupied two days in measuring it. 

f The wall built across the isthmus by the Greeks when they were alarmed by the Per- 
sian invasion, reached from Lechaeum to Cenchreae, a distance of five miles, as we learn 
from Strabo, Pliny, Agathemerus, and Diod. S. (See Wesseling in D. S. t. i. p. 416.) 
This was in a different spot from that observed by Col. S. The wall he notices is more 
to the north, and in a narrower part. Manuel Paleeologus fortified the isthmus; the wall 
was forced by Murat the Second, and was raised again by the Venetians in 1696. — See 
D'Anville l'Empire Turc. pp. 33. 116. 

Y Y 2 



348 



ISTHMUS OF CORINTH. 



being in this part about six Greek miles in width. On the road from 
Corinth to Cenchrese the harbour of the city on the Saronic gulf, are 
two Roman sepulchres of masonry, and faced with tesselated brick 
work ; the position of Lechaeum, as well as of Cenchrese is sufficiently 
marked by traces of stone foundation in the sea, which formed the 
inclosure of the harbour ; these ports are now almost entirely filled 
up and destroyed; and capable only of admitting the very small boats 
of the country. 

Considered in a military point of view, the isthmus renders the 
Morea extremely secure against any attack meditated on the land 
side from Greece ; but on the two coasts there is a very favourable 
shore for debarkation, and accessible in every part ; the gulf of 
Lepanto or Corinth indeed being very narrow and contracted at its 
entrance, though it afterwards expands into an extensive bay, is 
capable of the strongest defence ; the Saronic or gulf of iEgina is 
more open, and an invading squadron might anchor in this sea 
without any fear of opposition from the land. On examining the 
ground, the ridge of mountains, the ancient Gerania, appears to 
constitute the best and most tenable barrier of the isthmus towards 
Greece ; the Scironian road leading from Megara may readily be 
destroyed ; an impracticable rocky height thus extends from one sea 
to the other, presenting only in one instance a passable gorge, the 
present road into the Peloponnesus, which may be defended by a 
handful of men against the most formidable invader. Cannon judi- 
ciously planted in this part would ensure the safety of the isthmus, 
for the whole ground in front, consisting of rugged uneven heights, 
is completely commanded by the mountain. With the Acro-Corin- 
thus, and the ridge of heights at the south extremity of the isthmus, 
where are still seen the traces of Venetian field-works, may be esta- 
blished a second position, not so strong, and more extended than the 
first ; the great advantage of the second post would be in the event 
of a debarkation on the sides of the isthmus, in the rear of the moun- 
tainous ridge Gerania. From the shore of the Corinthian gulf little 
may be apprehended, because the entrance into this sea may be pre- 



ISTHMUS OF CORINTH. 



349 



vented by strong batteries or towers at Lepanto. That part of the 
shore of the Saronic bay, calculated for debarkation, is an extent of 
three or four miles, bounding the lowest part of the isthmus, be- 
tween the Scironian rocks, and the mountains eastward of Corinth, 
a space which with the assistance of art might be easily defended. 
What has been observed with regard to the defence of the Pelo- 
ponnesus relates only to an attack from Greece, or to a debarkation 
on the isthmus. 

Why did the Greeks build a wall across the isthmus, instead of 
fortifying the gorge in the first barrier in the mountain? It is 
reasonable to suppose that the last mode of defence was attended to 
as well as the first, and that an advanced guard would have been 
stationed to dispute to the last moment this important pass*, this 
Thermopylae of the Peloponnesus. But though the Greeks would 
take advantage of the obstacles, nature had offered for their protection 
against an invasion by land, they would also provide against any 
force, which the Persians might attempt to debark on the isthmus, in 
the event of a victory obtained by their naval armaments, over the 
allied Greeks at Salamis. Those of the Peloponnesus would there- 
fore immediately draw the line of fortification, particularly mentioned 
by Herodotus, so placing their defences, as to enclose the harbour of 
Cenchreae on the Saronic gulf, and at the same time to allow as little 
space as possible for a debarkation in their rear. 



* The importance of a fortress at Geraneia was not overlooked by the Greeks ; we find 
mention of the ruypt Ytpdvsict in Scylax Per. i 5. Hudson. But the time of erecting it 
cannot of course be fixed. 



( 350 ) 



OBSERVATIONS 

RELATING TO 

SOME OF THE ANTIQUITIES OF EGYPT. 

[FROM THE JOURNALS OF THE LATE MR. DAVISON.] 

The most sure and accurate method of finding the height of the 
great Pyramid, says Grobert, is that of measuring the steps of it ; 205 
were counted by some of the French Institute, and the size of each 
(on the side facing the N.W.) in feet, inches, and lines was taken, 
making 437 feet, two inches ; but three steps under the apparent 
lowest step were uncovered ; and as these add eleven feet to the 
measures already mentioned, the sum total is 448 feet, 2 inches ; and 
the whole number of the tiers of stone is 208. The apparent base 
of the Pyramid is 718 feet, in length ; the true one, is 728. — 

Mr. Davison, many years before had adopted the same plan of 
taking the height of this Pyramid. In examining his statement, we 
shall find that he measured 206 tiers of stone*, and marked, sepa- 
rately, the dimensions of each. According to this examination, the 
perpendicular height of the Pyramid is 460 feet, 11 inches. The 
base is computed by him at 746 feet. — In comparing these measures 
with those of the French, it should be recollected that the French 
foot equals 1.066 English. 

The following are the particulars of Mr. Davison's Measurement. 



* By a diligent examination, says Greaves, I and two others found the number of 
degrees from the bottom to the top to be 207. See vol. i. 105. 



THE PYRAMIDS. 



351 



Step 


F. In. 


Step 


F. 


In. 


Step 


F. In. 


1. 


4 


— 


38. 


3 


Of 


75. 


2 5| 


2. 


4 


8 


39. 


2 


11 


76. 


2 1 


3. 


3 


10 


40. 


2 


H 


77- 


2 0| 


4. 


3 


91 


41. 


2 


■n 


78. 


1 H§ 


5. 


3 


4 


42. 


2 


4| 


79. 


1 Hi 


6. 


3 


3 


43, 


2 


9f 


80. 


2 Of 


ry 
1 • 


3 


*r 


44. 


3 


4| 


31. 


1 m 


8. 


2 


11| 


45. 


3 


2* 


82. 


1 ni 


9. 


3 


1 


46. 


2 


3| 


83. 


1 10| 


10. 


2 


11! 


47. 


2 


10 


84. 


2 4'f 


11. 


2 


91 


48. 


3 


li 


85. 


1 104 


12. 


2 


6 


49. 


2 


8 


86. 


2 24 


13. 


2 


6 


50. 


2 


3| 


87- 


1 101 


14. 


2 


5* 


51. 


2 


2£ 


88. 


1 IO4 


15. 


2 


6| 


52. 


2 


2f 


89- 


1 111 


16. 


2 


3| 


53. 


2 


2 


90. 


3 2± 


17. 


2 


4 


54. 


2 


If 


91. 


2 114 


18. 


2 


71 


55. 


2 


1| 


92. 


2 84 


19. 


3 


2 


56. 


2 


11 


93. 


2 54 


20. 


2 





57. 


2 


Of 


94. 


2 2| 


21. 


1 


Hi 


58. 


2 


3 


95. 


2 If 


22. 


2 


11 


59. 


2 


5t 


96. 


1 H| 


23. 


2 


8| 


60. 


2 


4 


97- 


1 Ht 


24. 


2 


8| 


61. 


2 


2f 


98. 


3 5 


25. 


2 


si 


62. 


2 


1 


99. 


3 24 


26. 


2 


7 


63. 


2 


I* 

z 


100. 


2 114 


27. 


2 


5| 


64. 


2 


2 


101. 


2 8| 


28. 


2 


*i 


65. 


2 




102. 


2 54 


29. 


2 


5 


66. 


1 


11| 


103. 


2 5f 


30. 


2 


3f 


67. 


2 


11 


104. 


2 24. 


31. 


2 


41 


68. 


2 


7 


105. 


2 2f 


32. 


2 


2i 


69. 


2 


8r 


106. 


2 l^ 


33. 


2 


2 


70. 


2 


5 


107. 


2 04 


34. 


2 


2 


71. 


2 


4 


108. 


2 54 


35. 


4 


Of 


72. 


2 


2| 


109. 


2 2| 


36. 


3 


71 - 


73. 


2 


2 


110. 


1 Ht 


37- 


3 


li 


74. 


2 


71 


111. 


1 114 



352 



EGYPT. 



Step 


F. In. 


Step 


F. In. 


Step 


F. 


In. 


112. 


1 Hf 


144. 


2 52- 


176. 


1 


8t 


113. 


1 U! 


145. 


2 2 


177- 


1 


8t 


114. 


1 10! 


146. 


2 


178. 


1 


8f 


115. 


1 10| 


147. 


1 11 


179. 


1 


9 


116. 


2 2| 


148. 


1 10j 


180. 


2 


2f 


117. 


1 Hi 


149. 


1 91 


181. 


1 


1 


118. 


3 


150. 


2 2! 


182. 


1 


11! 


119. 


2 8 


151. 


2 Of 


183. 


1 




120. 


2 6} 


152. 


2 


184. 


1 


io t 


121. 


2 5| 


153. 


1 10! 


185. 


1 


9 


122. 


2 2| 


154. 


1 9! 


186. 


1 


91 


123. 


2 2! 


155. 


1 9^ 


187. 


1 


8t 


124. 


2 1 


156. 


1 9f 


188. 


1 


8ir 


125. 


1 111 


157. 


1 9 


189- 


1 


K 


126. 


1 11| 


158. 


1 10 


190. 


1 


8! 


127. 


1 11| 


159. 


1 91 


191. 


1 


91 


128. 


1 11 


160. 


1 91 


192. 


1 


8 


129. 


1 10! 


161. 


1 9^: 


193. 


1 


8i 


130. 


2 2! 


162. 


1 11! 


194. 


1 


8| 


131. 


2 1| 


163. 


1 10| 


195. 


1 


8i 

3 


132. 


1 11| 


164. 


1 1 


196. 


1 


HI 


133. 


1 10J 


165. 


1 9} 


197- 


1 


III 


134. 


1 9! 


166. 


1 9f 


198. 


1 


ibt 


135. 


1 10 


I67. 


1 8' T 


199. 


1 


94 


136. 


1 111 


168. 


1 91 


200. 


1 


91 


137. 


1 10! 


169. 


1 8| 


201. 


1 


101 


138. 


2 2* 


170. 


1 9 


202. 


1 


9i 


139. 


1 11 


171. 


1 8 


203. 


1 


n 


140. 


1 10| 


172. 


1 9k 


204. 


1 


8| 


141. 


1 91 


173. 


1 8| 


205. 


1 


8-| 


142. 


1 10* 


174. 


1 8| 


206. 


3 


2f 


143. 


1 10i 


175. 


1 8| 









The perpendicular height of the large Pyramid of'Giza 460 11 



The square of the Pyramid is 746 feet ; its perpendicular height 
460 feet, 11 inches. The top consists of six stones, irregularly dis- 



THE PYRAMIDS. 



353 



posed ; 206 tiers compose the whole height of the Pyramid. As the 
square of every tier is less than the one below it, the space of two 
or three feet which is left on all sides by each of them as. they diminish 
towards the top, forms what is generally called the steps. They are 
of different dimensions, as may be seen on a preceding paper where the 
height of each is separately marked. It was thought proper, by 
means of a level and measure, to take the height of the steps one by 
one from the bottom to the top, a tedious, though the most certain 
and satisfactory method of having the exact perpendicular height of 
the whole, which agrees also with that taken by the Theodolite. — 
The entrance is upon the sixteenth step, on the side facing the north. 
It is not in the middle as is generally imagined ; being only 350 feet 
distant from the N.E. corner, whereas it is 396 feet from the N.W. 
corner. 

Oct. 18. — Went a second time to the Pyramids, and returned the 
23d of the same month. Slept in the Nizlet every night near the 
village of one of the principal Sheiks : thence sailed before sunrise in 
the morning, and landed a little to the east of the large Pyramid. 

Oct. 19. — Left the Nizlet at sunrise, and reached the Pyramid 
before eight. Began immediately to level and measure every step, 
one by one, and did not reach the top till one in the afternoon ; at 
three entered the pyramid, retook some of the measures, and came out. 

Oct. 20. -—Set out at six in the morning, and in three quarters of 
an hour landed to the east of the Pyramid*; left the boat at seven 
o'clock, and visited a great number of grottoes and rooms cut out of 
the rock ; many of them are adorned with hieroglyphics, which in 
some places are distinct, notwithstanding the pains employed by the 



* Mr. Davison mentions in his journal the fossil remains near the Pyramid, of which 
Niebuhr speaks : On y trouve encore de petites petrifications en forme de lentille, qui 
semblent etredelameme espece, que les petites helices dontj'ai recueilli plusieurs a Bukir ; 
on avoit dit a Strabon, que ces petites petrifications s'etoient formees des miettes qu' avoient 
laisse tomber a terre ceux qui ont travaille aux Pyramides. Lib. 161. See also Forskal 
F. A. Testacea Fossilia Kahirensia. — " Nautilus? Gizensis, ad Pyramides vulgaris, 
jam a Strabone membratus." 

z z 



354 



EGYPT. 



superstitious Arabs to deface them. Thence went, and measured the 
two oblong holes cut in the rock on the east of the Pyramid. Enter- 
ed and took all the dimensions of the inside. In the afternoon went 
in again, and descended into the pit. 

Oct. 21. — Visited and took the dimensions of the second and 
third Pyramid *, and the two ruined buildings to the east of them, be- 
sides three small Pyramids to the south of the third ; having measured 
likewise the pyramid on a square rock. Struck down towards the 
Sphinx, and arrived at the boat after sunset. 

Oct. 22. — Went with the Theodolite to take the height of the 
large Pyramid ; but deferred it on seeing one of the great people of 
Cairo had come out to visit it. In the mean time examined the small 
Pyramids and tombs to the south and east which are in a ruined state. 
Having measured off a base, took the height of the Pyramid with the 
Theodolite, which agreed with a former one. Thence went down to 
the plain on the north side, and having taken a base, found by means 
of a Theodolite, that the Pyramid stands on an elevation 163 feet 
above the river. 



* If we examine the measures given by the French, we shall find that the base of each 
of the three Pyramids of Cheops, Cephren, and Mycerinus is to their perpendicular 
height, nearly in the ratio of 8 : 5.; — Cheops is 448 feet H.; 728 L. of B. ; — Ce» 
phren is 398 H. ; 655 L. of B. ; Mycerinus, 1 62 H, ; 280 L. of B« 



WELL IN THE GREAT PYRAMID. 



855 



ACCOUNT OF A WELL IN THE GREAT PYRAMID. 

Pliny, lib. xxxvi. c. 12. speaks of a well in the great Pyramid, which was 86 cubits in 
depth. In this letter, Mr. Davison gives an account of his descent into the pit or well ; 
he explored it to the depth of 155 feet, and found it impossible to proceed further. 

Lettre A M. Varsy. 
Monsieur, Caire, le 23 e 9 6re 1764. 

En consequence de la promesse que je vous ai fait dans la lettre 
que j' ai eu l'honneur de vous ecrire par la derniere ordinaire, et a fin 
que je puisse quitter ce sejour des morts, qui vous a deja si fort 
ennuye, je me hate de vous dire quelque chose du puits de la 
grande Pyramide, ou je suis descendu. Comme je m'imaginois 
qu'il etoit d'une extreme profondeur, je me suis pourvu d'une 
bonne quantite de corde, par moyen de laquelle je comptois 
d'alier en bas avec plus de surete. La precaution n ? etoit pas inutile. 
II est vrai qu'il y a des degres, ou plutot des trous, dans l'une et l'autre 
cote du puits, mais il est aussi certain que ces degres sont rompus en 
plusieurs endroits, et tellement uses partout, qu'en se fiant trop on cou- 
r.oit risque de tomber, et de se casser le col. Pour eviter une fin si fu- 
neste je liai la corde au milieu de mon corps. Avant de me mettre en 
chemin, je fis descendre une lanterne attachee au bout d'une ficelle. 
Ayant vu qu'elle s'arretoit au fond, je me preparai a, la suivre. Deux 
domestiques et trois Arabes tenoient la corde en haut. lis le faisoient 
pourtant avec beacoup de regret. lis m' ont dit mille sottises pour 
me detourner de mon dessein ; " que je risquois beaucoup de 
descendre ;" — " qu'il y avoit des Esprits en bas ; et que je ne 
retournerois plus." Mais quand ils ont vu que j'etois determine 
de me perdre, et que leur remonstrances ne servoient qu'a me faire 
rire, ils ont pris la corde, et se sont contentes de me plaindre, et de 

z z 2 



356 



EGYPT. 



me regarder comme si devoit etre pour la derniere fois. Enfin ayan 
pris du papier, une boussole, la mesure, et une autre chandelle a, 
la main, je commencai a descendre, m'appuyant quelque fois sur la 
corde, et quelque fois sur la pierre, jusqu'a ce que je fusse au fond de 
ce premier puits. L'ouverture en bas est du cote de midi ; on 
marche environ huit pieds, et puis il y a une descente perpendiculaire 
de cinque. A quatre pieds, dix pouces dela on trouve un autre 
puits, ou pour mieux dire, la continuation du meme. L' entree en 
est presque bouchee par une grosse pierre, qui ne laisse qu' un petit 
trou par lequel on passe assez difficilement. Je fis descendre la 
lanterne ici comme en haut, non seulement pour voir ou je devois 
aller, mais encore pour savoir, si l'air ttoit mauvais. Dans cet 
endroit pourtant la precaution fut inutile ; parceque ce puits n'est pas 
comme 1' autre une exacte perpendiculaire, mais etant un peu 
tortueux, quand la chandelle etoit en bas je ne la voyois plus. 
Cela ne suffisoit pas pourtant pour me rebuter. Je voulois absolument 
aller au fond : ma curiosite ne pouvoit pas etre satisfaite d'une autre 
maniere. Voyant qu' il seroit necessaire d'avoir quelque un pour 
tenir la corde a F entree du second puits, aussi bien qu'a celle du 
premiere, j'appellois deux des Arabes, qui etoient en haut : mais au 
lieu de venir, ils commencerent a me faire mille contes. Entre autres 
celui que vous avez lui dans ma lettre a M. Roboli, " qu'un Franc, il 
y a quelques annees venant a Fendroit ou j'etois, et ayant laisse 
descendre une longue corde pour savoir la profondeur, quelque 
Demon la lui avoit arrache des mains." Je savois tres-bien a qui ils 
avoient l'obligation de cette histoire ; M. le Consul d'Hollande jure 
que la chose lui est arrivee. II n'y a qu'une facon de faire entendre 
raison a. cette espece de gens ; je parle des Arabes. Je promis de 
l'argent a celui qui viendroit, et de plus, que le tresor, s'il y en avoit 
un en bas, comme ils le pretendoient, seroit tout pour lui. II sembloit 
que cette derniere consideration avoit son poids ; tous avoient envie 
de venir, mais toujours lorsque quelqu'un commencoit a descendre, 
la superstition Ten retiroit. Je n'etois ni d'humeur, ni dans un 
endroit pour attendre. Je criai longtemps en mauvais Arabe 



WELL IN THE GREAT PYRAMID. ^ 

sans aucun effet. Ma patience fut poussee a bout. A la fin cependant, 
1'esperance d'avoir de l'argent l'emporta sur la superstition ; un 
Arabe se mit a descendre, temoignant pourtant toujours beacoup de 
repugnance. On pouvoit voir a, la verite, assez clairement qu'il n'y 
alloit pas de tout son cceur. II etoit dans une telle agitation qu'il 
ne savoit plus ce qu'il faisoit. II tatoit de cote et d' autre sans pouvoir 
trouver les trous. Je me retirai vers l'autre puits, ne le jugeant pas trop 
prudent de rester directement au dessous de lui. Etant venu en bas 
il avoit plus l'apparence d'un spectre que d'un homme. Tout pale et 
tremblant il regardoit de tous cotes. Ses cheveux, s'il en avoit eu, 
se seroient dresses sur la tete. 

Je me hatai de descendre pour ne pas lui donner le terns de se re- 
pentir de ce qu'il avoit fait. J'avois la corde toujours liee au milieu 
du corps. Je decouvris en peu de terns la lanterne en bas, qui me fit 
voir que ce puits etoit plus profond que le premier. Un peu plus 
bas que le milieu, je trouvai l'entree d'une grotte, qui a environ 15 
pieds de longueur, 4 ou 5 de largeur (car elle n'est pas reguliere), 
et assez haut pour qu'on y puisse marcher debout. Del a je descendis a 
l'entree d'un troisieme puits, qui n'est pas perpendiculaire commes les 
autres, et dont la pente est extremement rapide. Je savois qu'il etoit 
profond, par une pierre que j'avois fait rouler en bas. Je criai qu'on 
relachat peu a peu la corde, jusqu' a ce que je leur disse de tirer. 
Alors laissant aller la lanterne un peu devant, et mettant les pieds 
dans des petits trous pratiques dans la pierre, je descendis le mieux 
que je pus. Je continuai longtems de suivre la lanterne sans voir la 
moindre apparence de m'arreter. J'allois toujours en ligne droite ; 
le puits ensuite devenoit un peut plus perpendiculaire. C'est la que 
j'ai trouve le fond. II est tout-a-fait ferme par des pierres, sable, &c. 
II n'y avoit que deux choses a craindre en bas, dont l'une ou l'autre 
m'auroit ete fort desagreable. La premiere etoit que les chauve- 
souris n' eteignissent la chandelle ; et la seconde, que la grosse pierre, 
dont je vous ai parle, a l'entree du second puits, et sur laquelle 
l'Arabe etoit oblige de s'appuyer, ne tombat en bas, et ne le fermat 
pour toujours. Vous avez beau dire que j'aurois du regarder comme 



358 



EGYPT 



honorable, d'etre enseveli dans une pyramide, dans un de ces fameux 
monumens, qui n'ont ete destine que pour des grands rois. Je vous 
avoue franchement, M. que je n'avois pas la moindre ambition a cet 
egard. Bien au contraire, j'etois cent fois plus content de sortir, et de 
revoir le jour. J'ai trouve une echelle de corde au fond du second 
puits. Quoiqu'elle y ait ete plus de seize ans, elle etoit, pour ainsi 
dire, comme si elle avoit ete faite dans l'instant, aussi forte, et l'appa- 
rence toute aussi neuve. Les degres sont faits de morceaux de bois, 
dans le gout de celle que nous avions a Sacara, mais presque trois 
fois plus longue. M. Wood, qui a publie les mines de Palmy re et 
de Balbec, l'avoit apporte ici pour faciliter la descente, mais il n'a pas 
voulu aller plus bas que la grotte. C'etoit dans cette occasion que M. 
le Consul d'Hollande dit que quelqu'un en bas lui a enleve la corde, 
histoire dont les Arabes conservent encore toutes les circonstances. 
Par le moyen de la corde que j'avois en bas, nous avons fait monter 
l'echelle, mais difficilement, parce que le second puits etant comme 
je vous l'ai dit un peu tortueux, et le bois de l'echelle entrant de tems 
en tems dans les trous qui sont pratiques dans le roc, il nous a donne 
par la beacoup de peine pour la tirer en haut. Quand nous fumes 
de retour au fond du premier puits, les chandelles tomberent et 
s'eteignirent ; alors le pauvre Arabe se crut perdu. II saisit la corde 
quand je voulus monter, et protesta qu'il aimeroit mieux qu'on lui 
tira un coup de pistolet que de le laisser la-bas seul avec Vaffrit (le 
diable). Je lui fls la grace de le laisser monter avant moi ; il 
parut etre fort sensible a cette faveur. Quoiqu'il soit beaucoup plus 
difficile de monter que de descendre, je ne sais comment il fit, mais il 
monta cent fois plus vite qu'il n'etoit descendu. 

Vous auriez ri di me voir sortir du puits plus noir qu'un charbon- 
nier. Je courus, sans m'arreter un instant a F entree de la pyramide, 
et me jettai aussitot dans l'eau, non pas comme nous avons fait dans 
la Mer Rouge, aupres de Hammam Faraoun, mais avec l'Anteri, 
Chemise, &c. tout ensemble. Le bateau etant a quelques distance 
je le gagnai a la nage. 



CHAMBER IN THE GREAT PYRAMID. 



359 



J'ai omis jusqu' a present, mais non pas oublie de vous dormer les 
mesures des puits. Le premier a 22 pieds de profondeur ; le second 
29, et le troisieme 99 ; et si vous voulez ajouter la descente ne cinque 
pieds entre le premier et le second puits, le tout fera 155. 



CHAMBER IN THE GREAT PYRAMID OF EGYPT. 

This part of Mr. Davison's Journals gives an account of the manner in which he entered 
a room in the Great Pyramid, over the chamber containing the Sarcophagus. Maillet 
had been forty times in the Pyramid, and had not seen it ; Niebuhr did not observe it, 
and after his return from Cairo, he received some information concerning it from Mr. 
Meynard j the person who accompanied Mr. D. in his visit to this Pyramid. The room 
has never yet been explored by any other traveller; Dr. Hales (Chronol. i. 384.) thinks 
the existence of it problematical ; but the publication of Mr. D.'s remarks will satify all 
doubts upon the subject. Bruce alludes to Mr. D.'s discovery. — Ed. 

M. Cousinery, Consul at Rosetta, set out for Giza, on Monday, July 8, 
1765, with an intention to make a party with some French gentlemen to 
visit the pyramids. The 9th in the morning I went and joined them. 
Having taken three Arab guides and a Janissary, we mounted our asses 
at midnight, and travelling by the light of the moon we arrived at the 
pyramids in something less than two hours. I descended the first with 
a carpenter and another who widened the strait passage in the first 
canal ; I was surprised to find that this canal which was supposed to 
end here continues a considerable way down the pyramid. It was 
formerly stopped up with stones and sand ; these have been washed in 
the last winter by the rain which seems to have penetrated to this part 
of the pyramid. At entering we contented ourselves with pushing the 
earth and stones into it which were taken out of the narrow passage. 
The chief reason of my returning now to the pyramid was to 



360 



EGYPT. 



endeavour, if possible, to mount up to the hole I had discovered at 
the top of the gallery the last time I was there. For this purpose I 
had made seven short ladders in such a manner as to fasten one to 
another by means of four wooden pins, the whole together, when 
joined, being about twenty-six feet long. As soon as the rubbish 
was cleared from the strait passage at the bottom, I caused the 
ladders to be brought in by two carpenters who accompanied me. 
When they had conveyed them to the platform at the top of 
the gallery, tying two long canes together, I placed a candle 
at one end, and gave it to a servant to hold near the hole in 
question. The platform being very small there was no thinking 
of fixing the ladders on the ground, as it would have been very 
difficult, not to say impossible to raise them. We took the only 
method which seemed practicable ; namely, that of placing the first 
ladder against the wall; two men raising it up, a third placed another 
below it, and having fastened them together by the wooden pins, 
the two together were raised from the ground, and the rest in the 
same manner fixed one after another. The ladder entered enough 
into the hole, when all parts were joined together, to prevent it 
from sliding on the side of the gallery. I then instantly mounted, 
and found a passage two feet four inches square, which turned 
immediately to the right. I entered a little way, with my face on 
the ground, but was obliged to retire, on account of the passage 
being in a great measure choaked with dust, and bats' dung, 
which, in some places, was near a foot deep. I first thought of 
clearing it by throwing the dirt down into the gallery, but foreseeing 
that this would be a work of some time, besides the inconvenience of 
filling the gallery with rubbish, and perhaps rendering the de- 
scent more difficult, I determined to make another effort to enter, 
which was accompanied with more success than the first. I was ena- 
bled to creep in, though with much difficulty, not only on account 
of the lowness of the passage, but likewise the quantity of dust 
which I raised. When I had advanced a little way, I discovered 
what I supposed to be the end of the passage. My surprize was 



CHAMBER IN THE GREAT PYRAMID. 



361 



great, when I reached it, to find to the right a straight entrance into 
a long, broad, but low place, which I knew, as well by the length as 
the direction of the passage I had entered at, to be immediately above 
the large room.* The stones of granite, which are at the top of 
the latter, form the bottom of this, but are uneven, being of unequal 
thickness. This room is four feet longer than the one below j in the 
latter, you see only seven stones, and a half of one, on each side of 
them ; but in that above, the nine are entire, the two halves resting 
on the wall at each end. The breadth is equal with that of the room 
below. The covering of this, as of the other, is of beautiful granite; 
but it is composed of eight stones instead of nine, the number in 
the room below. One of the carpenters entered with me, and Mr. 
Meynard came into the passage, near the door, but being a good deal 
troubled with the dust, and want of air, he retired. Having mea- 
sured and examined the different parts of it, we came out, and 
descended by the ladder. We then employed ourselves in digging 
towards the bottom of the niche in the room below, and afterwards 
went down and entered the first passage ; there, instead of turning 
to the left to go out, I descended to the right, (where an opening 
had been lately made,) one hundred and thirty-one feet ; the descent, 
except the first four and a half feet, is cut in the rock : at the end 



* In this is the Sarcophagus. It is well observed by Greaves, that most of the authors 
who have spoken of the purpose for which the pyramids were erected, consider them as 
sepulchres. This is the express opinion of Strabo and Diodorus, and of the Arabian 
writers; and " if none of these authorities were extant, yet the tomb found in the great 
pyramid of Cheops, puts it out of controversy." i. 60. 

Although the supposition, that the great pyramid was constructed as a sepulchre be 
generally approved, we continue to find a disagreement among different writers and 
travellers respecting the time of its erection. The building of some of the pyramids, is 
ascribed by Perizonius to the Israelites; Ego certe Josepho Israelitarum tempore factas 
censenti, accesserim. JEg. orig. Invent, c. 21. See Dr. Clarke's Travels, torn. iii. Dr. 
Hales, in his Chronology, refers them to a remote period. But it is singular, as Goguet 
has remarked, that although Homer mentions Thebes, and its hundred gates, he has not 
noticed the pyramids of Egypt. Is it probable he would have omitted to speak of them, 
if they had been erected in his time? Goguet. 1. iii. epoch. 3. — Ed. 

3 A 



362 



EGYPT. 



of one hundred and thirty-one feet I found it so filled up with 
earth, that there was no possibility of proceeding. I then came 
out of the pyramid at half an hour past seven, and found that all 
the party, except Mr. Meynard, the Arab guard, and servants, had 
set out on their return to Giza. Though we had but little water, 
I was obliged to make use of some of it, to wash my hands and face, 
which were all covered over with dust and bats' dung. We break- 
fasted in the shade of the pyramid, and went afterwards to the 
second pyramid, where I copied the hieroglyphics which are on the 
perpendicular rock facing the north side of it. 



CONTINUATION OF THE LATE MR. DAVISON'S PAPERS. 



J uly 7th. — We crossed the Nile and rode on south a little to the 
west, and passing through a forest of date trees, reached Um- 
muchnan at nine o'clock in the morning. This is a large village con- 
sisting of about 1000 houses. We proceeded to visit the Sheik 
who had given so kind an invitation to Mr. Montagu, and found him 
in company with many others smoking his pipe before the door. 
He received Mr. M. with all marks of distinction. Remaining about 
half an hour here, we were conducted to a very large and handsome 
apartment. Some of the Sheiks, like others in the country, found it 
very difficult to conceive how people can have any great curiosity 
about a thing where interest is not concerned, and asked many 
questions about our journey, and why we purposed going down the 
pits. 

The 8th. — At six in the morning, we rode W.S.W. and reached 
Abousir, in something less than an hour. This village is situated 
at the foot of the ridge of mountains running north and south, and 



SACARA. 



363 



on which the pyramids are built. Behind this place we rode up a 
rising ground, leading to an opening between the hills. In ten 
minutes we reached the catacombs of birds. Mr. M. was escorted 
here by above 100 Arab horsemen ; most of them armed with a 
long spear ; some with fire arms. As men had been sent out the 
night before to clear the mouth of the pit from the sand, we found 
when we arrived that they had placed a tree across the top of it, to 
which they fixed the rope of cords made by order of Mr. M. in 
Cairo. The pit we found twenty-two feet deep the descent was 
bad, on account of the sand and stones which fell from above. 
Here lighting our candles, we crept on our faces through a long 
passage choked up with dirt and broken pots ; we then turned to 
the right, where we could easily walk without stooping. On each 
side of the passage are large rooms, in which the jars containing the 
bird mummies were formerly planed. We found some that were 
almost filled with them. We took the dimensions of all these places 
foot by foot. They are entirely cut out of the rock, but less 
magnificent than those at Alexandria. We then went a little further 
west, where there seems to be a grand entrance to some tomb ; 
the mouth of it is formed of four or five very large white stones, 
finely ornamented with hieroglyphics in relievo.* Mr. M. gave 
orders to have this cleared as much as possible for the next day. 

9th. — Went out this morning with Mr. Varsy, and copied the 
hieroglyphics. 

10th. — We went early to Sacara, which is an hour and a quarter 
distant to the S.W. At^ten o'clock we set out for the pyramids, and 
in about an hour's time we came to the furthest but one.f It is no 
less than 700 feet square. It is the largest of all the range of pyramids 
at Sacara and Dashour. The perpendicular height is 343 feet ; there 
are in all 154 steps. In that side which faces the north, 180 feet up, 



* Some figures in relief on obelisks are mentioned by Niebuhr, i. 167. 
j- Called in Pococke " The great pyramid to the north." 

3 a 2 



364 



EGYPT. 



there is a passage which leads into it. Having lighted our candles, 
we descended and found it four feet five inches and a quarter high, 
three feet five inches and a half wide, and 200 long ; at the end of 
200 feet there is a passage running horizontally 24 feet four inches 
and a half, and leads to a large pyramidal room 27 feet four inches 
long, and 1 1 feet 1 1 inches broad, 43 feet four inches high ; from this, 
a passage of 10 feet four inches conducts to another of the same 
dimensions. At the height of 11 feet, the stones set in six inches 
one over another for 11 together, each stone beino; three feet high. 
At the end of the inner room, 30 feet 10 inches from the ground, 
there is a passage 24 feet long, three feet five inches square, which 
leads to a third*, differing only from the former in being one foot 
eight inches broader. Not only all the pavement of this room, but 
five tiers of stones have been forcibly taken up in search of treasure. 
The stones of the passage have also hefm taken up. There is not 
much of the covering preserved on this pyramid ; what remains is 
towards the top. 

11th. — Early this morning we prepared to set out for the farthest 
pyramid^ , where we arrived in something less than an hour and a 
half. A little way up on the north side, there is an entrance to 
which one may mount, but with danger and difficulty. This pyramid 
has 600 feet for its base ; 184 feet up to the angle, and 250 feet 
thence to the top, which is thirty feet broad. The passage, as far as 
one can advance, is 174 feet in length. It is very difficult to creep 
down in the lower parts, on account of the stones and rubbish with 
which it is at last entirely choked up. It cuts the side of the 
pyramid at right angles. The building, as it now stands, consists of 
198 steps, namely, 68 large ones from the ground to the angle ; and 
130 lesser ones from that point to the top. Upon measuring one 
of the largest of the former, I found it to be four feet two inches, 



* Pococke saw two of these rooms only. 

t The great pyramid to the south. — Pococke, lii. 1. 



SACARA. 



365 



whereas the general size of those in the upper part is only one foot 
ten inches or two feet. * This pyramid is built of hard white stone ; 
in some places you see fossil remains ; bat not so numerous as in 
the large pyramid a mile to the north of this. From the summit we 
had a most extensive prospect of the fertile plain towards the 
Nile on the east of the pyramids, which was the most probable 
situation of Memphis -j-, of Jebel Jehusi on the other side of the 
river, of the castle of Cairo, and of all the pyramids, both those of 
Giza and Sacara. On the tops of these great heights the eagles build 
their nests ; we heard the noise of the young ones as we went up. 
Two of them were taken by the Arabs, and carried home with us. 
Pococke is mistaken in supposing that the angle near the middle 
only appears to be such from the covering above having slid down : 
as we were at the summit we had an opportunity of examining it 
more exactly than he could possibly do below, of measuring the 
angle, of seeing that the covering stone is on as well above as below 
it ; and that it is only from this station one can see the top and 
bottom at the same time. Having taken the bearing of this from the 
principal objects, we rode 20 minutes north to the largest pyramid 
where we had been the day before. Though the sun was extremely 
hot, being about mid-day we mounted this pyramid, and took its 
height. We descended quickly, and rode home, as the Arabs 
themselves were impatient, being no longer able to bear the intolerable 
heat. While we were employed in measuring, they sheltered them- 
selves below the stones. In passing by the pyramid called Pharaoh's 
Seat we saw six Gazelles at some distance from us ; there are a 
great number in these desarts ; this animal is the Antelope of the 



* " The following are the dimensions of one of the stones with which the pyramid is 

covered ; , ^_ \ length of the side four feet seven inches." — Davison. 

t Mr. Davison's opinion respecting the site of Memphis agrees with that of the best 
travellers in Egypt. Great quantities of breccia and granite are seen near Metrahenny, 
and extensive ruins have been found lately near this place, which escaped the researches of 
Shaw, Bruce, Pococke, Norden, and other travellers. — Hamilton's iEgypt, 314. 



366 



EGYPT. 



Scriptures. The mummy people came and informed us, that the pit 
was cleared, and that we might go when we thought proper. We 
arrived there in 15 minutes ; and descended by a cord with candles 
and two men. It was so filled with sand that we were obliged to 
creep in on our faces in a passage four feet broad ; as we advanced 
we found nothing but turnings and windings, and on all sides skulls, 
bones, and bandages of mummies. When we came out we found 
the party impatient, as the sun had been set for some time : we 
immediately descended from the rising ground, and rode N. E. 
towards Ummuchnan ; in a quarter of an hour we passed over the 
ancient bed of the Nile. 

12th. — Early this morning being dressed like an Arab I rode with 
Mr. Varsy to the pyramid of the steps/ accompanied by the Kiaiah 
of the Sheik. Went up the N. W. corner and measured the height. 
From the top of it took the direction of all the other pyramids. 
The mummy pit is 300 yards to the south ; to the N. E. are two 
smaller pyramids in a ruined state, and a little further the pit of the 
bird mummies. We went then to the three pyramids a mile to the 
north, and having taken their dimensions and bearings, rode home. 
To-day the Chamseen wind was intolerable. By the thermometer we 
found that the heat was ten degrees higher than human heat. 

13th. — Rode out early to the west side of the palm trees of 
Ummuchnan, and having measured a base of 2000 feet, Mr. Montagu 
took the plan of all the pyramids with the Theodolite. 



THE PYRAMIDS. 



367 



THE PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT. 

LETTER FROM MR. DAVISON TO PROFESSOR WHITE. 

Sir, 

I am very much obliged to you for your polite letter of the 4th 
of last month, and am truly ashamed of not having told you so 
sooner. To say I have not written a single line to any of my 
correspondents since it came to hand, though true, is but a lame 
excuse for deferring my acknowledgments so late. As I certainly 
might have found time to answer your letter, there remains nothing 
for me now but to ask your pardon, which I do very sincerely. 

I have little doubt of your success in a translation of Abdallatif, 
of its doing credit to you, and affording amusement and information 
to the public ; but I cannot flatter myself that any remarks of mine 
respecting the pyramids, particularly as I have left the greatest part 
of my papers at Nice, would add value to it ; though, without doubt, 
every discovery in monuments so remarkable, which have been, and 
are likely to continue the wonder of ages, will be deemed of con- 
sequence by the curious in antiquities. I am now in such a dis- 
agreeable state of suspense, attendance, and hurry, as not to be able 
to sit down seriously to any thing; but had I even leisure, yet 
having left the greatest part of my papers in Italy, I could not 
give you so full an account as I could wish of the discovery I made 
of an entresol above the large room, and of the continuation of the 
first passage which both leads into the pyramid, and a considerable 
way into the rock below it. If I can possibly find time before I 
am sent abroad, and materials enough with me to draw up a short 
general account to my liking, you may depend on having it ; for 
I am to the full as desirous as you can be of having mention made of 
the above circumstances in your edition of Abdallatif. 



368 



EGYPT. 



It is no reflection on other travellers that they did not make the 
discoveries before me, as perhaps none of them had the like 
advantages, excepting Maillet, who did not avail himself of them so 
much as he might have done. I remained long at Cairo, and had an 
opportunity of visiting the pyramids often, and of measuring every 
part over and over again, as well of the outside as of the interior of 
the largest, which is the only one of those of Giza into which a 
passage is found. Mine were not hasty visits, such as are generally 
paid to those noble monuments of antiquity. The merchants 
established in that country make a party of five or six persons to 
accompany a traveller ; they set out early in the morning from Cairo 
or Giza, and return at night; they stay at the pyramids perhaps 
from three to four hours ; suppose the visit repeated, the time is 
siarcely sufficient to take a general view, much less to take the 
dimensions with any kind of accuracy. 

Besides many visits of this sort, I hired a boat to convey me there 
during the inundation, and staid to examine and measure them for 
eight days together. There is little here depending on the abilities, 
knowledge, or penetration of a traveller. To measure straight lines 
with exactness requires only leisure and labour ; I grudged neither ; 
and I so far succeeded to my own satisfaction as to think that my 
time and pains were not thrown away. 



LETTER FROM PROFESSOR WHITE TO MR. DAVISON. 

Sir, Oxf ord, August 15. 1779- 

I humbly beg your pardon for not having acknowledged the receipt 
of your very obliging letter of June 21st. Since that time I have 
done myself the pleasure of calling twice at your lodgings in town ; 
but had not the good fortune to find you at home. I still flatter 
myself with hopes that you will find leisure to draw up some account 



THE PYRAMIDS. 



369 



of the pyramids to your liking, which, whatever humble opinion you 
may have of it yourself, will certainly add a value to my work. 

In Abdallatif 's account of the pyramids, there are two circumstances, 
which I know not how to defend ; the first is, that he says he saw 
a prodigious number of hieroglyphical inscriptions on the two great 
pyramids, as many, as if copied would fill perhaps 10,000 volumes. 
The second curious circumstance is, that he asserts the lesser of the 
three great pyramids was on one side considerably defaced by Al-Aziz 
about the year 1196. 

Now I cannot find by other travellers, that either of these facts 
has been observed, and at the same time Abdallatif is in general so 
accurate, that I hardly think he was mistaken. I beg the honour of 
a line on the subject, and am, &c. 

I beg your permission to print in my edition of Abdallatif that 
part of the letter you have honoured me with, which relates to the 
entresol you discovered. 



ANSWER TO PROFESSOR WHITE FROM MR. DAVISON. 

Sir, Lisbon, 10th October, 1779- 

I lament exceedingly that I should have been so unfortunate, as to 
miss you when you took the trouble of calling twice at my lodgings 
in London ; but as I neither found your name nor heard of it from 
the people of the house, it is likely, I think, that I was on a visit to 
my friends in Northumberland at the time. I was so much hurried 
before my departure from England as not to be able to thank you as 
I ought and intended, for your very polite letter of the 15th August. 
It was still less in my power to draw up any account of the pyramids, 
for which indeed I had not sufficient materials with me. You are 
welcome to make use of what I communicated to you on the subject 
of the entresol I discovered in the large pyramid of Giza. The 

3 B 



370 



EGYPT. 



account as far as it goes may be depended upon ; though had I been 
able to make it fuller, it would no doubt have been better deserving 
of a place in your edition of Abdallatif. 

Finding him in general pretty accurate you are unwilling to allow 
your author to be mistaken in two circumstances, which at the same 
time you do not know how to defend, as they have not been taken 
notice of by other travellers. One of them is very remarkable, 
namely, " that he saw a prodigious number of hieroglyphical 
inscriptions on the two great pyramids, as many as if copied would 
fill perhaps 10,000 volumes." I am at a loss what to say to this. 
There is not now I believe a single hieroglyphic to be seen on either 
of them, but it may not be amiss to observe that the greater part of 
the outer stones or covering of the two large pyramids have been 
destroyed or carried away. From some of the original covering still 
remaining at the top of the second great one, it is more than 
probable that the steps of which the sides of the other now consist, 
were covered in the same manner, with stones of such a form as to 
make a smooth surface from top to bottom with a profile somewhat 
resembling this figure J ^HEB Among the pyramids of Sacara and 
Dashour there is one on which the covering is still pretty entire. I 
do not recollect finding a single inscription upon it. Whether there 
be any on the covered part of the second pyramid of Giza, I 
cannot say from my own knowledge, as I did not succeed in my 
attempt to get up to it. I observed and copied two lines of hiero- 
glyphics on a rock that is cut perpendicularly, near and opposite to 
the north side of this pyramid. This is the only thing of the kind 
I found in that neighbourhood, except in some grottoes or rooms cut 
out in that part of the rocks facing the east, on which the 
pyramids are built, and at no great distance from the largest. These 
appear to have been the entrance of burying places, by the pits in 
most of them being now rilled up, down which the mummies were 
probably conveyed. The sides of the rooms are covered with 
hieroglyphics, among which* I remember taking notice of human 
figures, some of them about as large as life. 



THE PYRAMIDS. 



371 



With regard to the other circumstances he mentions, " that the 
lesser of the three great pyramids was on one side considerably 
defaced by Aziz about the year 1196," I do not think it unlikely, 
or even very remarkable. It is natural to suppose that it would 
suffer most on the north side where they would expect to find the 
entrance, and that they would begin to throw down the covering 
from that part before they touched the other sides. This pyramid 
appears to have been covered with red granite from some of the 
stones still remaining in different parts of it. Those I saw were square, 
and not cut like the covering I had occasion to take notice of above. 

I have endeavoured to satisfy you as far as I can , from memory, 
but fear that my letter will not reach England in time to be of any 
use to you in your publication. N. D. 

NOTE. 

[Other Arabic writers prior to Abdallatif have also mentioned the 
hieroglyphics on the pyramids ; their testimonies are cited by S. de 
Sacy, in his translation of Abdallatif, 221. The Arabic writers do 
not express themselves in a manner sufficiently clear, so as to inform 
us, whether they mean that the characters were hieroglyphical or 
alphabetical. We find in Herodotus a reference to the inscription 
engraved on the pyramid of Cheops ; it was, he says in Egyptian 
characters; but still it is doubtful, whether by these words he means 
ordinary characters or hieroglyphics. The former acceptation is 
approved by Larcher; and Dr. Hales thinks these characters could 
not be any other than literal or alphabetical, Chron. i. 381. Ebn 
Haukal speaks of the Syrian and Greek inscriptions which covered 
some part of the pyramids ; the former, Quatremere supposes, 
were letters in the cursive characters of Egypt, of which the Rosetta 
stone affords a singular example. * The testimony respecting the 



* Le plus beaux monumens de l'^criture cursive sont les Papyrus publies par Denon et 
la curieuse inscription de Rosette. Millin. D. de B. A. 189. 2. See also some remarks on 
the Rosetta inscription in the Museum Criticum, Cambridge, 1816. 

3b 2 



372 



EGYPT. 



Greek characters may be confirmed by Seif-ed-doulah-ben-Hamdan, 
a geographer ; the inscriptions were probably written by Greeks who 
visited these monuments, and recorded their names and the date of 
their visit. On one of the pyramids Latin verses had been inscribed; 
they were observed by Boldensleve who travelled in 1336 ; three of 
them may be here subjoined. 

Vidi pyramidas sine te, dulcissime frater, 

Et tibi, quod potui, lacrymas hie maesta profudi, 

Et nostri memorem luctus hie sculpo querelam. 

The travellers who have at various times examined the pyramids 
of Giza, differ in their opinion respecting the manner in which 
their outward surfaces were finished. With regard to that of Cheops, 
we are expressly told by the historian Xfyeitowfa roL cZvututo. durvig tt^utu, 
the upper part was first finished, then the remainder. Niebuhr is 
disposed to allow, that the third or that of Mycerinus might have 
been partly cased with granite. Girard, one of the French Institute, 
says that the covering of the second and third pyramids, of which 
there is no doubt, leads us to conclude that the first was also covered ; 
and in his Memoire on the Nilometer of Elephantine, he speaks in 
the following manner of the examination of the lower part of the 
great pyramid, made by some architects who accompanied the 
expedition to Egypt. " Apres avoir retrouve sur la surface du rocher 
qui sert de soubassement a la grande pyramide l'emplacement des 
pierres angulaires du revetement de cet edifice, marque par une 
espece de mortaise de deux decimetres de profondeur, pratiquee dans 
le rocher, et destinee a recevoir chacune de ces pierres, ils ont 
mesure immediatement avec la plus rigoureuse precision la ligne 
terminee par les angles exterieurs de ces encastremens, et Font 
trouvec de 716 pieds, six pouces." 

Mr. D. remarks that some of the original covering remains at the 
top of the second great pyramid. Niebuhr climbed up to the 
summit to examine it, and found the same calcareous substance 
of which the rest of the building was composed. It is described also 
by Grobert. " In the second pyramid," says Shaw, " which may hint 



CATACOMBS OF ALEXANDRIA. 



373 



to us what was intended in them all, we see near a quarter of the whole 
pile very beautifully filled up and ending at the top in a point." As 
the upper parts are certainly not now covered with marble as some 
suppose, or with granite as Norden asserts, the passage of this 
traveller quoted by Larcher, ii. 244. should be erased in any future 
edition of the French Herodotus. Niebuhr supposes, that the last 
work of the builders was to give a smooth and regular appearance to 
the four sides of this pyramid, beginning at the summit. 

The third pyramid, Mr. Davison says, appears to have been covered 
with red granite. The remains of granite were seen by Niebuhr, and 
by some of the members of the French Institute. " Les beaux mor- 
ceaux de granit d'Elephantine sont disperses et abondamment entasses 
pres de sa base." — Grobert. This pyramid is called by the Arabic 
writers the coloured pyramid, and must have preserved its covering 
until the time of Abdallatif, who speaks of it as, construite en granit 
rouge. S. de Sacy's version, lib. i. c. 4. — Ed.] 



CATACOMBS OF ALEXANDRIA. 

[CONTINUATION OF MR. DAVISON'S PAPERS.] 

Nov. 7th, 1763. — This morning before sunrise we rode out at 
Pompey's pillar gate, with a great number of Janissaries ; we turned 
to the right leaving the column on our left, and after a ride of an hour 
and a half, arrived at the catacombs. At the entrance we fired three 
or four pistols, as well to clear the air a little as to drive out the jack- 
alls and other animals that generally take shelter there. We were 
obliged to creep in on our faces for a few yards, then getting on our feet 
we could walk, but not upright, except in some parts. As there is no 



374 



EGYPT. 



opening above where the light can enter, we had, every one, a wax 
candle. The catacombs consist of a vast number of subterranean 
apartments which extend a long way. The ground is very uneven 
and hilly, being filled up greatly with sand and rubbish. In some 
places one can stand up very well ; in others there is not above four 
or five feet. There is one grand door that seems to have in its archi- 
tecture some resemblance to the Doric form ; by this you enter into 
a large rotunda of considerable height ; there are three other great 
doors in it, that lead to small rooms. All of these apartments are 
cut out of a very hard rock. W e staid there sometime to take the 
plan of some part of it ; but as there are no air-holes we found it very 
warm and stifling, particularly with such a number of people,, and all 
with lights ; besides, there were several bones and a dead ass that 
added to the ungrateful smell. The Arabs in time of war make this 
a kind of hiding place, as it is capable of containing several thousand 
people. The entrance is not above twenty or thirty yards from the 
sea. We came out and found the rest of the company sitting in a 
large tent, that had been put up on the shore during our absence. 
Just before the tent there is a convenient bathing place with a room 
cut out in the rock, and open on one side, to dress and undress in. 
Less than a musket-shot further there are three or four grand bathing- 
rooms, cut in the rock ; the water enters by doors made on purpose, 
and in each there is a seat the length of the room to undress in. They 
are so fine altogether, that they go by the name of Cleopatra's baths. 
After dinner we went to another subterraneous place, which for the 
height and grandeur of it cannot fail of surprising the spectator ; it 
is high and spacious, cut out of the rock, though the stone seems not 
to be a hard one. They pretend that the building was used as a gra- 
nary. We then went to the catacombs where the mummies had for- 
merly been deposited. A pigeon-house may give one some idea of 
the form of them. The place is large, and each hole of a size suffi- 
cient for a corpse. Having measured them, we rode after the rest of the 
company, who were gone to some more catacombs towards Pompey's 
pillar ; these we found of the same nature as the last, but much larger. 



CATACOMBS OF ALEXANDRIA. 



375 



There are stairs at one end, and walking in a line for above one hun- 
dred yards we pass on both sides the entrances of ten or twelve of 
these burying places. 

Nov. 20, 21, 22, 23. — Went out to continue the measures of the 
walls, which we began some days before. When we arrived at the 
Rosetta gate some people came about us, and inquired what we were 
doing ; they threatened to go and inform the commander, that we 
were some Christians taking a plan of the place. Our Janissaries 
advised us to desist, and we mounted and rode home. 

Dec. 7. — We went without the walls towards the catacombs to see 
some subterranean apartments that had been lately discovered, where, 
they said, some ancient paintings were to be seen. We found the 
entrance filled up with earth, so were obliged to defer our visit to 
another time. To-morrow or next day four or five men will be sent 
out to clear away the rubbish. 

Dec. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. — We went out to the catacombs, and after 
the rubbish was removed, we descended with lights. They are the 
real catacombs where they formerly buried their dead. They are of 
vast extent under ground, all cut in the rock ; but they are now so 
filled with earth, that there is no way of going into them but upon 
one's face. In some of the apartments one can stand upright. In 
many of them there is no communication from one to another than 
by a hole, through which it is often difficult to creep. Some of the 
apartments are ornamented with paintings, which are so much injured 
that there is but little that can be distinguished There are yet one or 
two figures of men to be seen, which although defaced, sufficiently show 
they have been the work of no great master. The mouth of each 
mummy's hole has a cornice round it. Before we came out, we 
found this inscription marked with red* over one of them : Mr. Mon- 



* In the Hypogeum at iEgina, there is an inscription traced in a similar manner in red 
lines. We cannot determine the age of that which is mentioned by Mr. Davidson ; 
it is, however, no argument against the antiquity of it, that we find the omega, sigma, and 
epsilon, written € C ID. These characters were formed in this manner, three centuries 
before the Christian sera. — See Villois. Anecd. h\ 161. 



376 



EGYPT. 



tague supposed from the form of the letters that it was of the time 
of Alexander the Great. 

HPAKA6I: XP. CTG XAIPG . 

Over another at a small distance in the same room, 

. \ nOAO A&yPOCXA . . . 

Though we satisfied our curiosity in a great measure, we did not 
go so far under ground as we might have done. Our candles began 
to shorten, and we did not wish by going too far in to run the risk of 
losing our way back and of being left in the dark in the midst of 
these habitations of the dead. The catacombs are in some places no 
less than three stories one below another. There is a statue, but 
greatly defaced, in a niche in one of the apartments. The descent 
into the catacombs is perpendicular, and about fourteen or fifteen 
feet down ; on one side is a rock which you may hold as you go down ; 
we dared not touch the other side, as it is of earth, and seemed ready 
to fall in. 

Dec. 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19. — Went out again to the last-discovered 
catacombs, and took a plan of some part of them. After dinner we 
rode to the pillar of Pompey ; by means of a ladder we got upon the 
pedestal, and measured the base, though it blew so hard we could 
scarcely keep our feet. 

Jan. 5. — Went to the further catacombs, and took the plan of a good 
deal more than what we had already examined. After staying in 
about three hours we came out, and found the company in the usual 
place by the sea-side under a tent. The dinner was prepared by Mr. 
Montague's Turkish cooks, who came by sea, and as they had done 
before, they converted one of the bathing rooms cut in the rock into 
a place to dress the victuals in. After dinner I again entered with 



The cursive characters of € and C occur also on the marble containing a decree of the 
people of Gela, which Maffei assigned to the year 121 B. C. For thesigma of iEschrion, 
a figure applied by him to the new moon, see Ruhnk. ad. Long. sec. 3. — Ed. 



CATACOMBS OF ALEXANDRIA. 



377 



a French captain, and two or three more, and penetrated far- 
ther under ground than I had ever yet been. The plain is very 
regular and beautiful ; by what we have already examined we can see 
that there is yet much more wanting to complete it. The whole is 
cut entirely out of the rock. There are foxes and jackalls, and other 
animals which get in, and make a smell so disagreeable, that it is 
enough to strike one down. 

Jan. 6, 7, 8, 9. — Intended to have gone out to make some more 
discoveries in the catacombs, but it was thought prudent to defer 
this, as there is a caravan arrived from Barbary with about three 
hundred Arabs with dates ; they are all encamped near Pompey's 
pillar. 

Impatient to make some new discoveries at the catacombs, I set 
out from the old port in a boat accompanied by Mr. M.'s Janissaries, 
and two men to dig and open where there should be occasion. We 
reached the place in an hour's time, and having fired a gun as usual, 
, lighted our candles, and crept in with much difficulty into several 
places which before I had thought inaccessible on account of the 
quantity of earth with which they are choaked up. These were 
added to the plan. There are some passages that certainly lead 
to other apartments, but they are so filled up with earth, that it is 
impossible to pass. There is one in particular dotted out in the plan, 
which seems to have been so high as to allow a man to walk up- 
right without stooping ; the roof is arched : it is not more than two 
feet wide ; we crept in a good way, and found it turned to the right ; 
but the passage being too narrow to surfer us to proceed further, 
we were obliged to come out with our feet first, as there was no 
room to turn. We took the plan of the cupola with more exactness 
than before, as well as the different members of the architecture, 
which, though varying in many of the proportions, comes nearest to 
the Tuscan order. After staying in about five hours, and seeing 
every place it was possible to approach, we left the catacombs, and 
took the bearing of them to the large tower in Porto Vecchio. 

3 c 



378 EGYPT. 

Jan. 16. — We set out from Alexandria for a neighbouring village ; 
we quitted the town about nine, and after an hour's riding towards 
the east, crossed the Kalis; then travelled along E. S. E., having on 
one side of the road to the right the lake Mareotis, and to the left 
a lake of salt water, both close to the Kalis, which is the only 
separation between them. The salt water lake is formed by an 
inundation of the sea at the Seyd. At twenty minutes past one, 
turning S. E. by E. we rode to Balactur, a village which we reached 
a quarter past four. There were many Arab tents near it, and the 
marks of many more all around. Then turning due east, arrived 
at Cafala about a quarter past five. In the road, we past a great 
many ruins ; on the left hand chiefly. The country is an entire flat ; 
the villages are all situated on rising grounds, probably artificial hills 
raised formerly to defend the inhabitants from the annual inundation 
of the Nile. Many seem to have been the ruins of ancient cities. 
We were kindly received by the Kaimacan in a single room, where 
five of us slept together upon carpets spread out, with a covering 
over each. The houses are all built of unburnt brick, square at the 
bottom, and in form of a cupola at the top without any wood, which 
in this country is scarce. 

The second morning we rode to a hill, about four miles distant ; 
we were met by the Sheik of the Arabs encamped at the above 
mentioned village with his attendants. The case of this Sheik is 
particularly distressing. He has lately had his father murdered, 
and been robbed of 100,000 crowns. His father had formed a friend- 
ship with one of the Beys, who was employed in suppressing the 
late revolt ; he was sent for one day by the Bey who assured him 
that he had nothing to fear ; and calling for the Koran, swore that 
nothing should happen to him. But notwithstanding his pretended 
friendship and all his professions, to the sincerity of which he called 
his God to witness, in defiance of the sacred laws of hospitality, and 
indeed of all laws both human and divine, he barbarously ordered 
his slaves to cut his head off. His commands were no sooner given 
than executed : after which he sent to seize his money and effects 



POMPEY'S PILLAR. 



379 



which amount at a moderate computation to 100,000 crowns ; among 
other things, there were 2,000 camels, 1,800 sheep, and 30 fine 
Arabian horses ; in addition to several purses of money. No circum- 
stance could render the son's case more deplorable, except that the 
wretch should pass unpunished. This inhuman murder he endeavoured 
to excuse by giving out that the Sheik was cut off on account of a 
secret correspondence he had discovered between him and the rebels : 
a report as false as it was needless, for every body was well apprised 
that his only crime was his wealth. Riches in these parts seldom 
or never fail of proving fatal to those who possess them. The several 
Pashas or commanders dispersed over the vast Ottoman empire are 
trusted with an absolute power, which, as men in general are less 
prone to good than evil, they frequently abuse. A man is no sooner 
known to be rich than he is marked out for destruction. The 
Pashas, the representatives of the Grand Signor, are in office during 
his pleasure, so that their chief business is to acquire the most they 
can, and by all accounts there are few who do not make a good use 
of their time ; they enrich themselves by all manner of extortion and 
rapine, and by the destruction of those whom it is their duty to 
protect. But after all, they seem to be only the sponges of the 
Grand Signor, to whom they are obliged to recommend themselves 
by presents of immense value. 

Jan. 21. — Returned to Alexandria; on the 23d measured the 
base of Pompey's pillar more exactly, having brought ladders for 
that purpose. 

Jan. 24, 25. — Went out with the Theodolite accompanied by 
Mr. M.'s Janissary ; took a base of 100 feet, and found the pillar 
to be 92 feet high, without reckoning the separate stones by which 
it is raised four feet from the ground. By means of a cord round 
the foot of the pillar I found the circumference to be 27 feet, four 
inches and a half. Le Brun and Lucas both describe the column, 
but do not agree in the measure. 

Jan. 16. — Went out with Dr. Turnbull to the pillar, removed some 
of the stones below, and found that the pivot of five feet square on 

3 c 2 



380 EGYPT. 

which the pillar rests is covered with hieroglyphics. Returned the 
17th with an intention to copy them. 

April 11. — Yesterday was at Pompey's pillar; went in below, and 
copied the hieroglyphics. Found them inverted, and upon measur- 
ing, saw that the stone is smaller in the lower than upper parts. 
The support of the column is therefore an obelisk, turned upside 
down. * 



* The main weight of the pillar (says Pococke), rests upon the stone which has hiero- 
glyphics on it. See also De Tott, vol. ii. and Norry, Dec. Egypt. This circumstance (says 
Shaw) may induce us to suspect that the pillar, was not erected by the Egyptians, who 
could not well be imagined thus to bury their sacred inscriptions, but by the Greeks or 
Romans, nay, later perhaps than Strabo. The stone supporting the column is also 
mentioned by the Arabic writers. See Abdallatif, p. 233. S. de Sacy. The hieroglyphics 
are engraved in Dr. Clarke's Travels. 

A few words may be added concerning the inscription on the column, and the name 
by which it has been hitherto known. In some of the Arabic writers it is called Amoud 
al Sawary, " The pillars of the colonnades," alluding to the porticoes with which it was 
surrounded so late as the time of Saladin in the beginning of the 12th century. Michaelis 
once thought that the words might mean " the column of Severus," but afterwards aban- 
doned the opinion. Villoison supposes the Greek inscription to refer to Pomponius, the 
Praefect of Egypt, who raised the column. 

But the common appellation of Pompey's Pillar seems to me to be properly assigned to it 
for this reason, Pompeius was governor of pari of lower Egypt in the time of Diocletian. Pie 
may have been governor of Alexandria, and there have raised the pillar in honour of that 
Emperor. This information respecting a Praefect in Egypt of the name of Pompey in the 
time of Diocletian, which we owe entirely to M. Quatremere (Mem. Geog. sur l'Egypte, 
p. 259. 1.) is a remarkable corroboration of the opinion of those who think the pillar was 
raised in honour of Diocletian by a magistrate of the name of Pompeius. Major Missett 
informed Mr. W. Turner that the letters AIOK. H. IANON were considered by those who 
had lately visited Egypt, as discernible : and Col. Leake gives the word " Diocletian," as 
the result of the examination made by himself, Mr. Hamilton, and Col. Squire. — See 
Classical Journal, vol. xiii. p. 153. 

Dr. Clarke proposes, instead of A IOKAHTI ANON, to read AIONAAPIANON, and 
Pococke thought the pillar was erected in honour of Titus or Hadrian. Dr. C. thinks, 
" the use of AlOS is perhaps unknown in Greek prose;" but we find it in a Greek in- 
scription at Ombos in Egypt, TilEP BA^IAEilS IITOAEMAIOT AIOT KAI BA2I- 
AI22H2 KAEOriATPHS x. t. a. Hamilton's ^Egypt, 75.— Ed. 



CATACOMBS OF ALEXANDRIA. 



381 



THE CATACOMBS OF ALEXANDRIA; 

PAINTINGS DISCOVERED IN THEM BY MR. DAVISON. REMARKS ON THE CUSTOM OF 

PAINTING TEMPLES AND STATUES. ILLUSTRATION OF THE SINGULAR USE OF THE 

WORD Fpaipco. 

[BY THE EDITOR.~\ 

The Doric ornaments over some of the doors of the sepulchres in the 
Necropolis at Alexandria ; the general distribution of the chambers ; 
their resemblance in form to those in the catacombs of Milo*; and 
the Greek inscriptions in them first discovered and mentioned by 
Mr. Davison, lead us to conclude, that this great work was completed 
for a repository of the dead, about and a little after the time when 
Alexandria was built. All catacombs were originally f quarries, 
whence materials were extracted for some neighbouring city. The 
rock was afterwards formed into crypts and receptacles for the dead. 
The extent and magnificence of these sepulchral chambers at Alex- 
andria were well worthy of a city distinguished for its great wealth 
and populousness, and described by Diodorus as £7n<£>ai>£<rraTij. (xviii. 
279.) Over one of the doors there appears in a drawing by Mr. 
Davison, the symbol of the globe |, so frequent in Egyptian monu- 
ments ; but we cannot be surprised to find this in the Necropolis 



* " Whoever has seen," says Olivier, " the catacombs at Alexandria, will discover 
in those of Milo, the same genius and same taste which planned the former." 
f D'Orville Charit. 73. 75. 

X This ornament was observed by Col. Squire and Dr. Clarke, Travels, vol. ii. 289. 
The former speaks of a crescent ; this is also seen in the drawing of Mr. Davison. The 
winged globe, with a crescent under it, is sculptured at Kirmanschah in Persia. — See S. 
de Sacy's Memoire ; Mem. de lTnstit. p. 168. Year 1815. 



382 



EGYPT. 



of Alexandria; an intermixture of Greek and Egyptian rites and 
ceremonies, religious usages, and language, became very common 
under the Ptolemies in Egypt ; and about the time of Alexander 
and his first successors, the Athenians, and probably other Greek 
states, began to shew a religious regard to Isis in employing her 
name in adjurations.* 

As soon as the custom of burning bodies ceased in the different 
parts of the Roman empire f, the Pagans buried their dead in 
catacombs ; but in Egypt the practice of placing them in such 
repositories must have been at all times more frequent than that of 
burning, on account of the scarcity of wood in that country. 
Mr. Davison remarks that the paintings in the catacombs appeared 
to him to be of ordinary execution ; they probably belong to the 
period when the arts were declining, and might have been the 
works of the pagan inhabitants of the city in the sixth century; for 
at that time paganism was not altogether abolished, as we learn from 
a curious passage in Cyril. $ It is probable that these catacombs have 
also been in Alexandria, the place of resort for Christians, where, as 
in the crypts of Italy, they celebrated their Agapse§; but none of 
the Christian symbols, the palm branch, the monogram of XP., or 
other devices similar to those found in the cemeteries of Italy, appear 
in the tombs of Alexandria. 

Some sketches of the paintings found on the walls of the catacombs, 
are among Mr. Davison's papers ; and we may observe in them the 
ornament of the festoon very clearly traced. This is the nuyxd^inoQ 
arTefiuvcc, (Cuper, M. A. 238.) which we find on sarcophagi and other 
sepulchral monuments; Dr. Hunt observed it on the huge granite 
Latomia at Assos. As these paintings were only seen by the light 



* Diod. S. vol. i. p. 34. — Wessel. note. 

f After the time of Theodosius. — Montfauc. An. Ex. vol. v. part i. p. 20. 
\ In Esaiae, cap. 18. Opp. torn. xi. See the description of the Adonian Festival. Meur- 
sius in speaking of the Adonia has omitted to refer to this passage. — Valck. Theoc .193. 
§ Aringhi. Roma Subterr. lib. vi. c. 27- 



CATACOMBS OF ALEXANDRIA. 



383 



of torches and lamps, when the relatives of the dead paid their 
visits to the tombs, the colour of them must have been such as 
admitted of a strong contrast. 

The custom of painting tombs, statues, and temples was common 
in many parts of the east. Various animals were drawn on the 
bricks employed in building the city of Babylon ; these were painted 
before they were burnt. (Diod. S. vol. ii. 121.) In the sepulchres of 
Sidon cut out of the limestone rock, Hasselquist perceived that red 
colours had been used. Small statues of Isis and Osiris are 
frequently found in Egypt covered with a green substance. The 
colours which were applied to the sphinx were very plainly seen in 
the time of Abdallatif in the 13th century. * On voit sur la figure 
une teinte rougeatre et un vernis rouge qui a tout l'eclat de la 
fraicheur. (C. iv. lib. 1.) The painting on the walls of the temples at 
Tentyra, Thebes, Diospolis, and Philae is brilliant and fresh in 
appearance. Le coloris est si vif, si frais, et si brillant, qu'il semble, 
disent les habitans du pays, que l'ouvrier n'a pas encore lave ses 
mains depuis son travail. (Goguet. iii. vol. 68.) White paint, as 
well as yellow, red, and green has been employed ; for the white in 
the great temple at Philae is not the colour of the stone, according 
to the remark of Lancret. The grottoes of Thebes and Eleithias 
have been also adorned in a similar manner. Many of the paintings 
in Egypt have been destroyed by the zeal of the Coptic and other 
Christians, who have substituted in the room of Isis and Osiris repre- 
sentations of the Virgin Mary, Apostles, and Saints. 

The custom of painting tombs and statues, and the walls of 
temples was also practised by the Greeks in the most flourishing 
periods of the arts. Strabo, lib. viii. mentions the assistance which 
Phidias derived from his brother Panaenus in painting the statue of 
Jupiter. Near Tritaea in Achaia, was a tomb remarkable for its 
paintings, executed by Nicias, (Paus. lib. vii.) and another near 



* See the version by S. de Sacy. The colours have been also observed by Maillet, 
Grobert, Mr. Hamilton (JEgy. p. 329.) and Dr. Clarke. 



384 



EGYPT. 



Sicyon. (lib. ii.) Pausanias alludes to the paintings of Polygnotus on 
the walls of the temple of Minerva at Plataea (lib. ix.) and Plutarch 
(in Aristid.) speaks of them as in a state of preservation in his 
time. They had therefore lasted more than 550 years. Silanion 
and Parrhasius are called twovw Oyjo-eug yfa,<peiq za) %Xa,(rroa, Pausanias 
also informs us, (lib. vii. and lib. ix.) that he saw at iEgira and 
Creusis three statues ; two of which were of Bacchus ; one was 
painted with cinnabar; and the other was made of gypsum and 
l7riKzx.o<r[A7iixevov ygafy. One of Minerva was gilt and coloured. 

That the encaustic process was used in some of the sacred 
buildings of the Greeks, we learn from that singular inscription 
quoted by Cuper (in Harpo.) and Le Moyne (de Melaneph.) con- 
taining a dedication of a Pastophorium ; in this, mention is made of 
the painting of the walls, the roof, and the doors, ruv 9v^v lyK.ctv<riv. 
The persons who were employed in painting the walls were called 
o-t<X/Swt«<; and the term applied to the cement or plaister is * kovixo-k. 
From an inscription in the collection of Reinesius we learn, that the 
same artist sometimes united in himself the professions of ayaX^ocTOTraog 
and lyzctva-Tvjs. (lib. i. c. 9.) 

It may be asked whether traces of this custom are visible in any 
of the monuments of ancient Greece. There are coloured ornaments 
on the Soffit of the Lacunaria of the temple of Theseus. -]■ (Stuart, iii. 7.) 
They were also seen, the same writer informs us, on the upper fascia 
of the architrave within the portico of the Ionic temple on the banks 
of the Ilissus (i. c. 2.) The stucco in the chamber near the site of 
the supposed grotto of Trophonius in Bceotia, has been coloured. 
Garlands were seen by Olivier painted on the cement of the cata- 
combs of Milo, as at Alexandria. M. Fauvel informed Mr. Hawkins 
that " he had remarked traces of painting in the frieze of the temple. 



* Salm. in H. A. S. 451. et Plin. Exerc. 1229. 

f See also Chandler's Greece, 72. The painted ornaments on the roof appear to be 
signified by the xovpdic, of the Greeks, described by Hesychius, as, r\ h toTj 6pofri^a.<7t 



CATACOMBS OF ALEXANDRIA. 



385 



of Theseus; the ground appears to have been a sky-blue; the interior 
frieze of the Parthenon also had been painted ; for which he accounted 
by the flatness of the sculpture, and the want of light from * above. 
Many architectural ornaments, (Mr. Hawkins adds,) in these temples 
and in the Propylea were painted ; for instance the cima recta of 
the cornice of the latter, and the cieling or rather the compartments 
of the cieling; in the Parthenon." 

In some of the excavations made near Athens, Mr. Fauvel discovered 
the tiles or covering of tombs painted with ornaments. II y en a 
de peintes avec de beaux ornemens, comme t toient aussi celles en 
marbre des grands temples, chose difficile a, faire entendre a, nos 
architectes, qui ne veulent pas croire aux statues, et aux bas-reliefs 
peints. Mag. Ency. Mars. 1812. Yet Euripides mentions in very 
express terms, " the painted bas-reliefs on the pediments f ," y^x-movs h 
aieroKn ir^oa-Q.Ki-nav tv7tovc. Vale. Diatr. c. xx. 

It might be curious (says Mr. Browne, the traveller, in speaking of 
the paintings in Egypt), to inquire of what materials these colours 
were composed, which have thus defied the ravages of time. X With 
respect to the Greeks, some information may be collected from 
the ancient writers. Yellow ochre was found in different countries ; 
but the most esteemed was that of Attica. (Plin. lib. xxxv.) It 
is stated by Vitruvius that in his time the mine which produced 
this substance was no longer worked. The blues brought from the 
mines of Egypt and Cyprus were preparations of lapis lazuli, and of 



* Millin speaking of a bas-relief brought from the frieze of the cella of the Parthenon, 
observes, avant que ce marbre eut ete nettoye, il conservoit des traces, non seulement de 
la couleur encaustique dont, suivant l'usage des Grecs on enduisoit la sculpture, mais encore 
d'une veritable peinture dontquelques parties etoient couvertes. 

f Templorum fastigia dtsrovc fuisse, et cur ita fuerint dicta, docuerunt P. Leopardus 
Emen. Poesius in CEcon. Hipp, in v. et imprimis lectu dignissima animadversione, P. 
Scriverius in Martial. Epig. xix. — Valckenaer. 

% The blue colour of some of the painted hieroglyphics is owing to copper. M. Desco- 
tils a observe une couleur d'unbleu tres-eclatant et vitreux sur les peintres hieroglyphiques 
d'un monument d'Egypte; et il s'est assure que cette couleur etoit due au cuivre. — 
Memoires de llnstit. 1808. 

3d 



386 



EGYPT. 



the blue carbonates and arseniates of copper. The greens of copper 
were well known to the Greeks. Ivory black, according to Pliny, 
was invented by Apelles. The Kivva.(2a.ptz of Dioscor. lib. v. c. 109. 
called by the Romans minium, was said to have been discovered by 
Callias an Athenian, and was prepared by washing ore of quick- 
silver. * 

But a more curious part of the subject still remains to be noticed. 
There is reason to believe that the word yp«<p« was applied by the 
Greeks to express a work combining sculpture and painting. 

The following passage occurs in Pliny, lib. xxxv. c. 8. Fuisse Panas- 
num fratrem ejus, qui et clypeum intus pinxit Elide Minervse : 
" Pansenus, the brother of Phidias, painted the interior of the buckler 
of Minerva at Elis." Instead of expecting to find that the concave 
part of the shield was painted, we should have supposed, says Heyne, 
that mention would have been made of some work in bas-relief ; and 
this we may observe from Pliny, lib. xxxvi. c. 5. was the case in the 
shield of the statue of Minerva in the Parthenon ; scuti concava parte 
deorum et gigantum dimicationem ccelavit. Heyne supposes, there- 
fore, that Pliny in the first passage, or the author from whom he 
borrowed his information, wrongly understood the meaning of the 
word eyputye, which was employed to signify work in bas-relief. 

The opinion of such a scholar as Heyne f- is well entitled to our 
attention ; but as he has given no instances of this peculiar use of the 
word y$<p&i I shall add some passages which will establish the truth 
of his conjecture. 

1. The following words occur in iElian, lib. vi. c. 11. u^oxdya ryv 
7rpu£ lV TC " TgXwyof to ypctppa, the meaning of which, according to 
Cuper, may be, statua factum Gelonis ob oculos ponit; he adds y^atyw 
et yfidpua, non de sola pictura sumitur, sed etiam de aliis effingendi 
modis. Observ. Var. p. 39. 



# See the remarks of Sir H. Davy in Tilloch's Philosoph. Mag. May, June, J 8 15, on 
the colours used in painting by the ancients. 

f Mr. Hawkins first pointed out tome the observation of Heyne 



CATACOMBS OF ALEXANDRIA. 



387 



2. " The poets and artists feigned that Hercules sailed in a cup ;" 

ot %OiH\Ta\ Kcti ol ypa^sTg 7rXew- aCrov sv ttoty^ico euv9oXoyvj(rau. Athense. 

lib. xi. c. 5. Casaubon in his commentary says, per pictores, intel- 
lige omnes simulacrorum artifices, p. 498. 

3. Antipater in an epigram speaks of four Victories sculptured on 
the pediment of the house of Caius ; they were represented in the 
act of ascending into the skies, xxt svofjofiov y^u-mov reyog, " on the 
well roofed pediment sculptured and painted," y. r. says Salmasius, 
vocat, quod caelaturis et sculpturis domuum fastigia ornarentur, atque 
etiam auro pingerentur*, sicut et templorum. Not. in H. A. S. p. 423. 

4. ypuirTov TV7rov t '* de sculpta imagine" accepit Reiske in epigram- 
mate, says Jacobs, -j- Certe yoa-n-To; hanc interpretationem non respuit. 
Vide Wolfium in Proleg. ad Horn. xlv. 



* An instance of ■paiyited sculpture is pointed out to us by Pausanias in the following 
passage, Attic. 28. c. " The battle of the Lapithse and the Centaurs on the shield of the 
statue of Minerva, and whatever else is in relief there was executed, they say, by Mys; 
and Parrhasius painted for Mys this and the rest of his works; bV« «AA« Io~t\v \nupyau\ikva, 
\eyovG~i TOpevccti Mvv. tu> ?£ MtA tcivtu ts xoci to. Mitto. twv epywv Yla.ppa.oiov xuTaypafyui. The 
four first words of this quotation are entirely omitted in the version of Amasaeus. Heyne 
has produced some instances in which the sense of " work in relief" is given to 
iTretpya<riJ.iva ; see also Pausanias, Attica, where he informs us, that on each side of the 
helmet of Minerva in the Parthenon, ypuwes h<rtv knupyao-^ivou Chandler translates im- 
perfectly the passage, " on the sides were griffins." 

f Anthol. vol. ii. part i. p. 13. 



3 d 2 



( 388 ) 



REMARKS 

ON 

THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 

OF 

THE MODERN INHABITANTS OF EGYPT. 

[FROM THE JOURNALS OF BR. HUME.] 

We arrived at Rosetta, celebrated by travellers as the paradise or 
Egypt ; but the lofty minarets of the great mosque, with those of the 
smaller mosques, the tombs of Arab saints, and some houses of the 
Franks, which are almost embosomed in woods, give the traveller as 
he sails up the river ideas of populousness and wealth which are 
strongly contrasted by the mean and ruinous buildings seen by him 
on landing. The situation of this town would be very advantageous 
for commerce were a channel sufficiently deep formed across the bar, 
and this might be done by an industrious and enterprising people. 
But as the canal of Alexandria did not allow the coasting vessels and 
dgerms to pass through it, Rosetta has become the entrepot of com- 
merce between that city and the interior of Egypt. The country 
being in the hands of the French, and the mouth of the Nile and 
Alexandria blockaded by the English, the trade had for a long time 
been interrupted ; immense quantities of merchandize, corn, and rice 
were lying on the wharfs in 1801, ready for exportation. 

Between the houses and the Nile is a wide space, the parade of 
Rosetta; in the evening I found it crowded with people; their dress 
consisted generally of a blue, brown, or white cotton stuff ; but the 
prevailing colour was light blue. The longest streets or rather lanes 



CUSTOMS AND MANNERS. 



389 



of Rosetta, for they are extremely narrow, lie parallel to each other 
on a line with the river, and. are irregularly intersected by others 
which are shorter. The houses, generally built of brick, are of two 
or three stories, and at the top appear nearly to touch each other ; 
while the small latticed windows projecting into the streets, add con- 
siderably to the gloominess of the houses. The bazars, as in all 
Moslem towns, are covered in, and are narrow, dark, and dirty. The 
proximity of the Nile enables the inhabitants to water their streets 
with ease ; some scores of Arabs are seen carrying on their backs for 
this purpose goat-skins containing from ten to twenty gallons of 
water. The great mosque is very large, and its roof is supported by 
a number of columns. It has two minarets of a light and beautiful 
construction of an unequal height. From the summit of one, the 
prospect on a clear day is rich and beautiful towards the Delta and 
the winding of the river, but to the westward the view is that of an 
arid and burning desert. 

The shops were well filled, particularly with various kinds of grain. 
They are opened at day-break ; the people of all eastern countries 
rising early, that they may transact much of their business in the cool 
part of the morning. The external appearance of the houses is inele- 
gant, and if I may judge from those which I have seen, their interior 
is equally so, and in every respect incommodious. We ascended by 
a dark and dirty staircase to the upper rooms, which are lighted by 
windows with wooden lattices, rendering the light of day dismal. 

As we walked about the town, at the southern end of a long street, 
we passed by an Egyptian school which was held in the open air on 
a kind of stage made of basket work ; like our own schools, it might 
be easily known at a distance by the confused medley of young voices. 
The boys were all sitting cross-legged ; in the midst of them was a 
young man, probably the master, reading to them. 

Rosetta is nearly surrounded by gardens. A Rosetta garden is a 
walled inclosure, where shrubs and fruit trees are planted together 
without order or regularity. The rude growth of the trees affords 
the Arab an agreeable shelter from the intense heat ; and in his 



390 



MODERN EGYPT. 



garden he frequently takes his evening meal of pilau, (boiled rice 
and fowls,) doubly grateful from the abstinence of the day, and the 
refreshing shade. The gardens are watered by the Persian wheel 
from wells filled by the Nile during the inundation. The small 
wheels are turned round by an ass, the larger by buffaloes. The 
gardens of Rosetta derive their celebrity from the sudden contrast 
witnessed by the traveller in exchanging the barren wastes in the 
vicinity of Alexandria, for a tract of country round Rosetta and in 
the Delta, abounding in trees, and the most luxuriant vegetation. 

On leaving Rosetta at nine in the morning;, instead of entering the 
dgerm at that city, I walked to the castle of St. Julian, along the 
west bank of the river, and through rich fields of clover, the bersim 
of the Egyptians ; on some parts of my road I observed pools of 
tagnant water, in one of which a few buffaloes had taken shelter 
from the mosquitoes, every part of them being covered except the 
nostrils. At no great distance from St. Julian near a small cottage, 
some women were sitting in the shade nursing a child, ill with the 
small-pox ; this is one of the most destructive diseases in Egypt ; it 
is the Moubarah of the Turks, and Evlogea* of the modern Greeks. 

The castle of St. Julian where the dgerm met me, consists of a 
tower surrounded by a wall ; from the former, I believe, Poussielgue 
witnessed the destruction of the French fleet in Aboukir Bay. At 
eleven in the forenoon we passed over the Nile to a mud-built 
village, exactly opposite to St Julian's, where the wind being un- 
favourable, we were detained, until the next morning. As soon as we 
knew the pilot's determination we sought for a lodging, and at last 
fixed upon a ruined mosque, the walls of which had been shattered 
by the fire from St. Julian ; for it appeared, that one of the English 



* Theodorus Prodromus is the earliest writer who uses the word. It is not found in 
Meursius. Sec Villoison. Not. des MSS. du Roi. torn. vi. 539. The opinion in the text 
is confirmed by the observations of those who have directed their attention to the maladies 
of the east. La petite verole, et le carreau enlevent presque la tnoitie des enfans, avant 
qu'ils aient atteint leur quatrieme annee. — Mem. sur l'Egypte. — In Syria, in the neigh- 
bourhood of Aleppo, the Bedouin Arabs practise inoculation. Russell, ii. 3 J 7- 



CUSTOMS AND MANNERS. 



391 



batteries had been erected at this point against the castle. The 
ground upon which this village stands, is rather more elevated than 
the adjacent country ; the houses are poor hovels, several of them 
being built in the form of bee-hives. The fields around are cultivated 
with care, and after the inundation of the Nile, and the river is 
confined to its proper channel, they are watered by the Persian wheel 
from cisterns. Where the country is in any degree shaded, not a 
foot of it is allowed to be waste, for even under the date trees, the 
cucumber and other garden fruits are seen growing ; but where 
no shade intervenes to weaken the intense heat of the sun, the 
ground is hard and uncultivated, and bears nothing but thickets 
of brush-wood. 

We found the inhabitants of the village cheerful in the midst of 
their poverty. The men are tall and lank ; swarthy and withered. 
Their dress in the village is a cotton gown, like that worn by the 
inhabitants of Rosetta; but the few we met with in the fields were 
almost naked, having nothing but a cloth wrapped round their 
middle, and a skull-cap on their heads. The women of Rosetta, and 
some of those whom I saw at the village wore veils, covering every 
part of their face but the eyes. These were affected by a disease*, 
to which the inhabitants of Egypt are very subject. 

The lower orders of Egyptian Arabs, appeared to me to be a 
quiet inoffensive people with many good qualities. They are in 
general tall, and well made, possessing much muscular strength ; yet 
of a thin spare habit. Their complexion is very dark, their eyes 
black and sparkling, and their teeth good. Upon the whole they 
are a fine race of men in their persons ; they are more active in 
agricultural employments than we should be led to imagine from 
seeing the better sort of them in towns smoking and passing their 



* Les maladies des yeux sont tres-frequentes en Egypte, et difficiles a guerir. — Granger. 
The ophthalmia in Syria attacks children and young persons, and is ascribed to sleeping in 
the open air, and being exposed to the night dews. — Russell, ii. 299. The Egyptians are 
subject to psorophthalmia as well as ophthalmia. — Hasselquist. 389. 



392 



MODERN EGYPT. 



time in listless indolence. The dress of the poorer Arabs, consists 
simply of a pair of loose blue or white cotton drawers with a long 
blue tunic, which serves to cover them from their neck to their 
ankles, and a small red woollen skull-cap, round which they occa- 
sionally wind a long strip of white woollen manufacture. They are 
sometimes so poor as not to be able to purchase even this last article. 
By means of his tunic or long loose outer garment of dyed cotton, 
the wealthy Arab conceals from the proud and domineering Turk, 
a better and a richer dress, consisting sometimes of the long and 
graceful Moslem habit of Damascus silk, covered by a fine cloth 
coat with short sleeves, and at other times, particularly among the 
Alexandrians and those connected with the sea, o? a blue cloth short 
jacket, curiously and richly embroidered with gold, and white trow- 
sers reaching just below the knee, the legs bare. 

The articles of furniture in the house of an Egyptian Arab are 
extremely few. " The rooms of all people of decent rank have a 
low sofa called a divan, extending completely round three sides of 
the room in general, and sometimes to every part of it, except the 
door-way ; but is most commonly at the upper end of the chamber. 
On this divan the hours not devoted to business or exercise are 
passed. It is about nine inches or a foot from the floor, and is 
covered with mattresses ; the back is formed by large square cushions 
placed all along the wall touching each other, and these are more or 
less ornamented according to the wealth of the owner. The beds 
are generally laid on a wicker work strongly framed, made of the 
branches of the date tree*, tooiry Ik t&v <r7r0iSiy.au rou (pptvdtos, or of 
mattresses placed on a raised platform at the end of the room. This 
latter mode is the more general custom. For their meals they have 
a very low table, around which they squat on the mats covering the 
floor, and in houses of repute I have seen sometimes this table of 
copper thinly tinned over. They have no other furniture except 



* Mentioned by Porphyry, De Abst. lib. iv. in speaking of the Egyptians. 



CUSTOMS AND MANNERS. 393 

culinary utensils. The mats used in Egypt are made of straw, or the 
flags of the branches of the date tree, and are very neatly worked in 
figures, such as squares, ovals, and other forms, with fanciful borders. 
They are very durable, but harbour numbers of fleas, with which all 
the houses swarm, particularly in hot weather. 

The poorer sort of these Arabs seldom can afford to eat animal 
food, but subsist chiefly on rice made into a pilau, and moistened 
with the rancid butter of the country. Their bread is made of the 
holcus durra. * I have seen them sit down to a hearty meal of 
boiled horse beans steeped in oil. When the date is in season they 
subsist on the fruit, and in summer the vast quantities of gourds of 
all kinds, and melons, among which we may number the cucurbita 
citrullus and sativus, and the agour, and haoun of Sonnini, supply 
them with food. The better sort eat mutton and fowls, though 
sparingly. At a dinner given to me by an Arab in the Delta, I 
observed one dish was formed of a quarter of mutton stuffed with 
almonds and raisins. Their drink is the milk of buffaloes f, and the 
water of the Nile preserved and purified in cisterns. None but the 
higher orders, or those of dissolute lives ever taste wine ; grapes grow 
in abundance at Rosetta ; but little wine is made in Egypt. The 
Greek vessels from the Archipelago supply at a cheap rate the Franks 
with the quantity they want. 

All sorts of coin are current in Egypt ; but the principal are Vene- 
tian sequins of gold and Spanish dollars; Armenians, Greeks, and 
Jews are employed in the mint at Cairo. The mode of keeping 
accounts is extremely easy in piastres and paras. There is a set of 
brokers or money changers rather, who for a very trifling brokerage 



* Cereale Arabum vulgatissimum, ex quo panis conficitur. Forskal. 

f The flesh of the buffalo is seldom eaten in the Levant ; the milk is highly esteemed in 
Asia Minor and Syria. In the time of Prosper Alpinus the tongues of this animal were 
salted and sent to Venice. A few buffaloes are killed in the winter at Aleppo ; but the 
meat is dried, or made into hams, and not eaten fresh. Russell, 364. 

3 E 



394 



MODERN EGYPT- 



receive money for the merchants who employ them, and become 
responsible for it ; and this is necessary, on account of the variety 
of coins in circulation, some of which may be counterfeit or light. 
These money changers are in general Mahometans, all of whom must 
be supposed descendants of the prophet ; on which account they are 
believed to be more upright than any other class of their countrymen. 

The Arabs carry on the common trades of civilized life, such as 
carpenters and smiths, but in a very unskilful and imperfect manner. 
The saw with which they used to cut a large piece of ship-timber in 
two, was very light and small, yet they employed it in the manner 
practised by our sawyers, who would in half an hour have cut through 
what occupied them for a long time They have a few manufactories ; 
the principal one is the cotton cloth, which is chain-woven, and very 
strong ; a great part of it is dyed blue, and serves for almost general 
use both for men and women. There is a coarse silk manufacture, of 
a thin open texture, with a wide border of various colours, but gene- 
rally dark, which the better sort of women and indeed men sometimes 
wear instead of what we call call linen ; but that commonly worn by 
superior ranks of people is a manufacture somewhat resembling white 
crape, but a little thicker, with a silk border. It soon acquires a 
yellow colour by washing. 

There are no jewellers' shops in Rosetta or Alexandria ; this busi- 
ness is therefore carried on privately. The practitioners in medicine 
are the barbers, who are of course numerous in a country where every 
man's head is shaved ; but their knowledge of physic is extremely 
confined. They perform a few surgical operations, and are acquainted 
with the virtues of mercury, and some standard medicines. The 
general remedy in cases of fever and other kinds of illness is a sufi 
from a priest, which consists of some sentence from the Koran, written 
on a small piece of paper, and tied round the patient's neck. This, if 
the patient recovers, he carefully preserves by keeping it constantly 
between his skull-caps, of which he generally wears two or three. 
My old interpreter, Mohammed, had a dozen of them. They are 



CUSTOMS AND MANNERS. 



395 



worn by the Mahometans, and considered to possess much efficacy*, 
as were the frontals of the Jews, and phylacteries of the early 
Christians. An European medical man is much valued by the Arabs 
in general, and those of our army had plenty of practice among them, 
and the assistance they gave was afforded gratuitously. In every 
bazar some shops will be found in which a few of the most com- 
mon drugs are sold, such as opium, rhubarb, and senna. 

Arabic is generally spoken in Egypt ; the Coptic f is read as a dead 
language, and is understood by few. The Italian is much used both 
by Franks and Copts. I saw no printed books in Arabic ; the manu- 
scripts are many of them beautifully written, and the notes are in red 
ink, or light blue. Other works are read besides the Koran ; several 
of these I have seen in the shops of the transcribers. The natives 
when at school have sentences copied for them from the Koran ; 
these they learn by heart. There are many scribes, whose employ- 
ment, like that of the ancient calligraphs, consists of writing out 
manuscripts for sale ; they also make contracts between individuals, 
law and justice being dispensed in a very summary manner by the 
basha in greater cases, and by the different sourbadjees in inferior 
matters. The sourbadjee is a kind of chief magistrate, like a mayor, 
of whom there is one in every considerable town in Egypt ; he is 
always an Egyptian Arab. The office of sourbadjee at Alexan- 
dria was held by Sheik Gazan, a little energetic man of very good 
family, and some property, who was a firm and zealous adherent of 
the English, and who administered the duties of his station with 
becoming dignity. He was an active magistrate, and by means of 
an efficient police, kept the town and its various inhabitants in 
excellent order, he himself generally going the rounds once every 



* The virtue of these scrolls and charms is supposed likewise to be so universal, that 
they suspend them even upon the necks of their cattle. — Shaw, 243. Phylacteries are still 
worn by some of the Christians of the East. — Russel, ii. 104. 

f Aujourd'hui la langue Copte n'y est plus entendue par les Coptes memes ; le dernier 
qui l'entendoit est mort en ce siecle. — Maillet. p. 24*. 

3 e 2 



396 



MODERN EGYPT. 



night at the head of a well-armed guard. The appointment is not 
hereditary, but is made by the government from regard to wealth or 
personal qualities ; in fact, the office at Alexandria must always be 
filled by one in whom these two qualifications are united ; for there 
is much consequence and power attached to it. Sheik Gazan held 
the office at each time of our occupying Alexandria, but from his 
attachment to us and his consequent fear of Mohammed Ali, he 
emigrated to Malta when we last evacuated that city. 

With respect to the economical arrangement of their families, we 
found that the Arabs seldom have more than two wives ; commonly 
but one. The second wife is always subservient to the elder in the 
affairs of the house. The women colour their nails, the inside of 
their hands, and the soles of their feet with a deep orange colour, 
sometimes with one of a rosy appearance. This is done by means 
of henna. They likewise apply a black dye to their eye-lashes, 
eye-brows*, and the hair of their head; a brilliancy it is supposed, 
is thus given to the eye, and the sight is improved. The women in 
general, I believe, can neither read nor write ; but the better sort 
are taught embroidery and ornamental needle work, in which they 
mostly pass their time. An Arab merchant of property made me a 
present of an elegantly embroidered handkerchief, worked, as he 
said, by his wife's hands. The women of rank are seldom seen 
abroad ; many of these were murdered by the Turks after we 
evacuated Alexandria in 1803 ; but some of them, and in particular 
two Bedouin girls succeeded in escaping to Malta. 

The features of the Arab-Egyptian women are by no means 



* Both these customs arc of great antiquity ; some of the nails of the mummies have 
been found dyed with henna; and Shaw saw a joint of the donax taken out of a catacomb 
at Saccara, containing a bodkin, and an ounce or more of powder used for the purpose of 
ornamenting the eyes. Bodkins, which were employed in the same manner, are found at 
Herculaneum, made of ivory. Dr. Russell describes the kohol used for the eye-balls, or 
inside of the eyelids ; it is a kind of lead ore, and is brought from Persia. It is so much in 
request that the poets of the East in allusion to the instrument used in applying it, say, 
" The mountains of Ispahan have been worn away with a bodkin." — Vol. i. 36/. 



CUSTOMS AND MANNERS. 



397 



regular. In general the cheek-bones are high, the cheeks broad and 
flabby, the mouth large, the nose short, thick, and flat, though in 
some it is prominent ; the eyes black, but wanting animation. The bad 
appearance of the eyes is in some measure owing to disease. The skin 
is of a disagreeable Mulatto colour. The hair, which is commonly black 
is matted, and often smeared with a stinking ointment. It is formed 
in two or three divisions, and suffered to hang down the back. At a 
distance, however, the long flowing robe which covers them to the heels, 
though it may conceal deformity, seems, by the easiness of its drapery, 
to heighten their stature, and even to render their air graceful. In- 
deed I have never seen any women who have displayed so much 
easiness of manner, or so fine a carriage, being superior in this re- 
spect even to the women of Circassia. Probably the elegance and 
dignity of their gait may depend upon the habit of carrying every 
thing on their heads. They are taller in general than our European 
women. From ignorance of their language I could form no opinion 
of their conversation, yet from their numerous and graceful gestures 
I supposed it might be pleasing in spite of the shrillness of their 
voices. As the army was passing through the villages they mounted 
upon the house tops, and made a confused noise like the cackling 
of cranes, which was interpreted to us as indicating wishes for our 
success. 

The Ethiopian women brought to Egypt for sale though black, are 
exceedingly beautiful : their features are regular, their eyes full of 
expression. A great number of them had been purchased by the 
French during their stay in Egypt, who were anxious to dispose of 
them previously to their leaving the country, and it was the custom 
to bring them to the common market place in the camp, sometimes 
in boys' clothes, at other times in the gaudiest female dress of the 
French fashion. The neck was in general naked, and the petticoat 
on one side tucked up to the knee, to show the elegant form of the 
limb. The price of these women was from sixty to an hundred dol- 
lars ; while Arab women might be purchased at so low a price as ten. 

The Circassian women, who are brought to Egypt in great num- 



398 



MODERN EGYPT. 



bers, are exposed to sale in particular markets or. khans, and fetch a 
price in proportion to their beauty. They have been much talked of, 
and were we to give implicit faith to the eastern romances, female 
beauly is no where to be met with in perfection but in Circassia. 
I confess, however, that the appearances of such Circassian women 
as I saw, much disappointed me ; almost all their pretensions to 
beauty consisting of a fair skin. I was in the harem of Hassan, a 
Mameluke Kaschief, and had an opportunity of seeing three of its 
inmates. They were seated in a small room, on the sides of which 
was a divan or sofa covered with crimson satin ; a Turkey carpet 
was spread on the middle of the floor. The crimson satin was 
fancifully embroidered with silver flowers ; the ladies wore white 
turbans of muslin, and their faces were concealed with long veils, 
which in fact were only large white handkerchiefs thrown carelessly 
over them. When they go abroad, they wear veils, like the Arab 
women. Their trowsers were of red and white striped satin very 
wide, but drawn together at the ankle with a silk cord, and tied 
under their breasts with a girdle of scarlet and silver. Something like 
a white silk shirt, with loose sleeves, and open at the breast, was 
next the skin. Over all, was thrown a pelisse ; one of them was light 
blue satin, spangled with small silk leaves ; the other two, pink 
satin and gold. We were treated with coffee, and were fanned by 
the ladies themselves with large fans, a perfume being at the same time 
scattered through the room. This was composed of rose water, a 
quantity of which is made in Fayum. They were reserved at first, 
but after conversing with the Mameluke who attended me, they were 
less careful to conceal their faces. Their beauty did not equal what 
I had anticipated from the fineness of their skins. They were in- 
clining to corpulence ; their faces were round and inexpressive ; but 
the neck, bosom, arms, and hands were of great fairness and 
delicacy. My dress seemed to amuse them very much, and they 
examined every part of it, particularly my boots and spurs. When 
drinking coffee with the Turkish officers, I chanced to forget my 
handkerchief ; and as I seemed to express a desire to find it, one of 



CUSTOMS AND MANNERS. 



399 



the ladies took off a handkerchief from her head, and presented it 
to me, having first perfumed it. 

At my return to the camp, I had a conversation on the subject of 
these women with a French deserter, who had become Mameluke, 
and belonged to the family of Hassan. I was very particular in my 
enquiries respecting the number of women that Hassan might have 
in his possession. He told me that his master had upwards of 
twenty, several of whom were Circassians. I expressed astonishment 
at his having so many wives ; but the Mameluke said that Hassan 
in reality had but one wife ; the rest of the women being her 
attendants, and that his wife was not among the ladies I had seen. 
The Mamelukes are not allowed to marry before they arrive at the 
rank of kaschief, but it is common for the superior to bestow a 
fern.de upon his followers as the reward of eminent services. I 
attended Hassan while he was ill ; he was extremely grateful, and 
would have given me his sabre, had it not been a present from 
Mourad Bey, whom he called Sultan Mourad. 

The Moslem marriages are always regulated by the elder females, 
the bridegroom seldom or never seeing the bride's face, until the 
day of marriage. It is merely a civil contract made between their 
mutual friends, and signed by the young man and his father. There 
is a procession, consisting of many persons, male and female, who 
accompany the bride on a horse richly caparisoned to the house of 
the bridegroom, where she is received by his female friends. Some 
time after this, the mother of the young man informs the assembled 
females that the marriage has been solemnized, who immediately 
raise a loud and shrill cry, which they repeat at intervals during the 
entertainment which follows. It is the common demonstration of 
joy among the women, consisting of a quick guttural pronunciation 
of Luy, Luy, Luy*, and may be heard at some distance. After the 



* A similar sound expressive of mirth is used by the women on the coast of Barbary; 
it seems to be a corruption (says Shaw) of Halleluiah. 242. The okoXvty of the Greeks 
was generally applied to the conclamation of women in affliction, but it also expressed 
joy. — Schultens in Job, c. 10, v. 15. 



400 



MODERN EGYPT. 



first burst of joy, they make a procession through the streets, the 
women all veiled, and a person mounted on a horse richly caparisoned 
as before, carrying a red banner-like handkerchief fixed to the end of 
a long pole. They then return to the bridal house, and pass the re- 
mainder of the day and part of the night in feasting and carousing, 
entertaining themselves with seeing dancing girls, and listening to 
singing men, who are placed in an outer apartment or balcony. I was 
allowed to be present at one of these marriages, but I did not see the 
bride. Cakes, sweetmeats, coffee, and sherbet were distributed, and 
wine for the Nazarani (myself). 

These and similar feasts are called Fantasias ; at some which I have 
attended the women were unveiled; but they were not females of good 
character. At Alexandria there were very few dancing girls, but I 
have seen a young man habited as a women perform all the part of 
a dancing girl. He appeared to be drunk ; yet displayed many 
surprising feats of agility. At one of these entertainments, I heard 
some Arabic songs, sung by singing men, and accompanied with 
music. The musicians were Jews ; but the singers were Arabs. 

An Egyptian coffee-house is a large open building, with a few 
tables and seats within it, generally surrounded by a viranda of rude 
workmanship, under which the idle and lazy, particularly the Turks, 
are fond of sitting, smoking and drinking coffee. For this, two or 
three paras only are paid. In these places we have frequently seen 
two men playing at a game which consists in removing some small 
shells, like cowries, from one semicircular hole to another, on a 
square piece of board, counting the shells, as they remove them. 
This game appeared to be one of great interest ; they have also one 
nearly resembling backgammon. The higher orders of Turks and 
Arabs are fond of chess ; but this class is seldom seen loitering in the 
coffee-houses. 

The Egyptian Arabs are punctual in the performance of their reli- 
gious ceremonies at the stated hours appointed by their prophet. 
We often beheld some of these poor men after a day's hard work for 
a miserable pittance, on their knees on the sea shore, or at a seques- 



CUSTOMS AND MANNERS. 



401 



tered spot on the banks of the Nile, offering up their prayers, the 
forehead at times touching the ground. Idiots are held in great re- 
spect : whenever I have seen the Sheik el Misseri, a man renowned 
in Alexandria and its neighbourhood for sanctity, he has been accom- 
panied by one of this description* of people. In a conversation once 
carried on by means of an interpreter between the Sheik and myself, 
respecting some of the religious opinions of the Mahometans, I found 
that he was well acquainted with the history of the creation, and with 
many parts of the Bible. 

There is a tribe of civilized Arabs in Egypt, who pretend that they 
are respected by serpents, and that no sort of snake can hurt them. 
As a proof of this, there is an annual procession of the tribe through 
the streets of Rosetta, of which I was a witness ; one of their number 
is obliged to eat a living snake f in public, or so much of it as to 
occasion its death. Probably the snake may have been rendered 
harmless by some means ; the people, however, suppose that for 
some act of piety performed by the ancestors of this tribe or family 
(which is by no means numerous), the Prophet protects the descend- 
ants from any injury which the snakes might occasion. The ophi- 
ophagus, who is to keep up this ridiculous farce, being no doubt well 
paid, begins to eat the living reptile ; a pretty large snake is held in 
his hands, which writhes its folds around his naked arm, as he bites 
at the head and body. Horror and fury are depicted in the man's 



* Baumgarten was told that madmen and idiots were respected as saints by the Maho- 
metans, and that tombs were erected in honour of them when they died. — Peregrin, in 
Egypt. 73. Pococke at Rosetta saw two of those naked saints, he says, who are com- 
monly natural fools, and had in great veneration in Egypt. — Vol. i. 14. 

f Antes. Observ. on Egypt, 16., mentions the practice of eating serpents and scor- 
pions. The custom of charming serpents has prevailed in the East from a very early 
period, Psalm lviii. 5.; Ecclesiastes, x. 11. The charmers, however, were not always 
secure from injury. " Who will pity a charmer that is bitten with a serpent?" Eccl. xii. 
13. Forskal says that the leaves of Aristolochia sempervirens were used for forty days by 
those who would wish to protect themselves against the bite of these animals. At Pella the 
serpents, says Lucian, (Pseudom.) were so tame and familiar, that they were fed by the 
women and slept with the children. — Ed. 

3 F 



402 



MODERN EGYPT. 



countenance, and in a strong convulsive manner he puts the animal 
to death by eating and swallowing part of it alive. This disgusting 
and horrible spectacle, however, is but seldom exhibited at present. 

In the house in which I lived at Alexandria, there was a room 
containing a large quantity of rubbish and lumber, which had not 
been removed for some years ; a small snake was one day discovered 
in it, on which account I resolved to have the room examined, and 
the supposed nest of snakes destroyed. My interpreter persuaded 
me to send for one of the family already mentioned. The snake- 
charmer was an old man, and by trade a carpenter. He prayed 
fervently at the door for a quarter of an hour, and at length, pale and 
trembling, ventured into the room ; while an English sailor, who was 
at that time my servant, proceeded to clear away the rubbish with 
perfect unconcern. Two small snakes only were found ; and these 
were killed by the shovel of my servant. There are many kinds of 
snakes and reptiles about the ruins in the environs of Alexandria ; 
among them, some have fancied they discovered the asp. I have 
seen here the black scorpion, whose sting is reputed mortal ; but this 
is a vulgar prejudice. 

A mixture of meal, wine, and honey, was the food given, as we are 
informed by iElian, N. A. lib. xvii., to a species of serpent by the 
ancient Egyptians. The snake is esteemed sacred by the present 
Arab inhabitants of Egypt; and I have been told that they frequently 
place milk and roots for their subsistence, when it is known that any 
snakes frequent the ruins of their dwellings. These house snakes grow 
to a large size, and are said to be quite harmless, and even tame. 

The dogs, less fortunate than the cats, have no masters ; they are 
left to prowl about the streets in search of whatever food they can 
collect. They are very numerous, and many hundreds were shot by 
the French in different towns. They are very savage at Alexandria ; 
being a mixed race of the dog and the jackal. I have been attacked 
by them more than once at night, in passing by a burying-ground. 
I have seen several of them at the ruins near the castle of Aboukir ; 
they were of a light sandy colour, and had the appearance of the 



CUSTOMS AND MANNERS. 



403 



jackal. I saw one after it had been on board of the Inconstant two 
months ; but it still retained its savage aspect, and had never become 
familiar. 

Among the different classes of people we met with in Egypt, none 
struck me more forcibly that the Bedouins. The desarts of Barca, 
or rather its oases, are inhabited by several tribes of these wanderers 
who are often in hostility with each other. The most formidable of 
them is that called Welled Ali. One of its chiefs was an inmate 
in the house inhabited by Osman Bey Bardisi, and to this Sheik I 
was introduced by Osman, who said to me aloud in Arabic, if you or 
I were to meet this Sheik in the desart, of which he is one of the 
wolves, perhaps it would not be for us a pleasant meeting. The 
Sheik made no reply, but smiled. Many English officers however 
ventured a long way into the desart in hunting parties, where they 
staid some days, and all the Bedouins, whom they met, behaved 
with civility to them. The greatest number of Bedouins to be seen 
at a time at Alexandria, was at a certain season of the year with 
their camels, when many of them assembled in the square near the 
Jerusalem convent gate, The Bedouin, from hard living and constant 
exposure to the sun of the desart, is extremely lank and thin, and of 
a very dark complexion ; his countenance wild ; his eye black and 
penetrating, his general appearance bespeaking the half-savage, and 
unenlightened son of nature. His sole dress consists of a skull-cap 
and slippers, and a bernouse, or white woollen garment which covers 
the whole body, and reaches as low as the calf of the leg, having a 
hood to cover the head, (for he never wears a turban,) and open holes 
for the arms. Such is the Bedouin, whether Sheik or not. The 
Welled Ali Sheik had a lance with a head somewhat like a tomahawk ; 
a long rifle gun, a sabre, and a pair of pistols of superior work- 
manship. 

The people called Levantines in Egypt are the descendants of 
Franks born in this country, and are thus named to distinguish them 
from those Franks who are natives of European countries. The 
Levantine women imitate the Arabs in dying their eye-lashes, eye- 

3 f 2 



404 



MODERN EGYPT. 



brows, and hair with a black colour, and they are dressed in the 
costume of the higher order of Arab women. I saw an example of 
this in the dress worn by the wife of an Italian merchant at an en- 
tertainment given in Alexandria by the English commander in chief. 
The dress with the ornaments was valued at two thousand pounds. 
Her hair was remarkably long, and was divided behind into about 
forty tresses ; each tress was plaited, one half of it being adorned with 
Venetian sequins, the other half with a string of pearls; at the bottom 
of each tress was an emerald. The ornaments were placed at equal 
distances in all the tresses. When the hair is not long enough to 
extend to the extremity of the waist, it is lengthened by silk of the 
same colour. The head-dress was composed of a scarlet skull-cap 
with a black silk tassel in the centre, and nearly covered with different 
ornaments set with small rubies and emeralds. Round the head was 
a kind of turban formed by handkerchiefs, one placed upon another, 
until they projected as much as the brim of a man's hat. In the 
front of this turban was a handsome diamond ornament, and little 
gold chains with brilliants were festooned from the bottom of it over 
the side of the face and ears. She wore a handsome but ill-formed 
necklace of pearls, in the centre of which was seen an emerald valued 
at three hundred pounds. On her body was a close vest of superb 
cloth of gold with long sleeves ; at the opening of which for the hands, 
appeared an ornament similar to ruffles, made of a manufacture com- 
mon in the East of striped silk and gauze. This vest reached from 
the bosom to the ankles nearly, and fitted close over the trowsers, 
which were made of striped satin and silk of Damascus manufacture. 
Over the vest she wore a garment like an open gown without a train, 
made of very fine fawn-coloured German cloth trimmed with narrow 
gold lace. The whole of the dress had an elegant and singular 
appearance. This woman with her husband and family was then at 
Alexandria, going to Italy to reside there, her husband having made 
a handsome fortune in Cairo. It was probably the last time she 
would wear that dress, and she was unusually fine. 

Some of the Coptic women are fair and beautiful. The features 



CUSTOMS AND MANNERS. 



405 



of a Copt are broader, and more inclining to plumpness than those 
of the Arab. These people -are certainly the most intelligent in 
Egypt, and are better educated than the Arabs. I do not recollect 
to have seen a Copt absolutely poor. They are the managers, 
collectors, and clerks of the revenue in Egypt in general ; and though 
at Alexandria the head of the customs was a Turk, yet the subordinate 
officers were Copts. Many of them are merchants and brokers. The 
dress of the men is the long dress of the Turks, but they and all 
Christian and Jewish inhabitants are not permitted to wear a green 
or white turban, blue being the colour substituted in general, although 
the better sort wear a long Cashmire shawl, twisted round the head 
as a turban. 

I was acquainted with a Coptic merchant at Rosetta, who invited 
me and another Englishman to the christening of his child. We 
were induced to go, that we might have some insight into the 
manners of this people. We were received by the lady of the house 
on entering with great civility ; she poured a little perfumed rose 
water into our hands, from a bottle covered with silver fillagree of 
very fine work, and as we passed into the room she sprinkled us all 
over with rose water. This I afterwards found to be a common 
custom in all Coptic and Levantine houses when a person makes a 
visit of ceremony. The room into which we were introduced was at 
the top of the house, where there was a table covered with all kinds 
of sweetmeats and fruits. The mistress of the house and her sister, 
also a married lady, with her husband and other guests soon made 
their appearance. The infant was completely swathed. The ce- 
remony* was performed by the Coptic priest, according to a service 
which he read from a ritual in manuscript. As soon as the ceremony 
of the christening was ended, we sat down to partake of the breakfast. 



* The Coptic form of baptism is described by Vansleb and by Pococke ; " they plunge 
the child three times into water and then confirm it, and give it the sacrament ; that is, the 
wine, the priest dipping the end of his finger in it and putting it to the child's mouth." — 
Vol. i. 246. 



406 



MODERN EGYPT. 



These two Coptic women, particularly the sister of the lady of the 
house, were the prettiest I had seen in Egypt. The sister was 
remarkably fair, and would have been reckoned handsome in any 
country. She was older than she appeared to be ; and I was 
surprised to find that she had a son then in the room fourteen years 
of age ; but marriages are made at a very early time of life in this 
country. The costume of these women was similar to that I have 
already described, as worn by the Levantines, differing only in the 
ornaments and jewelry. 

In Egypt the unhappy Israelites, bearing with the Christians the 
undisguised scorn and contempt of all ranks of Moslems, drag out 
a miserable existence. Possessing an active and cunning mind, they 
contrive in many instances to over-reach their Mahometan masters ; 
and derive their means of living from the business of money-changers 
and brokers. They are easily distinguished both from the Copt and 
Arab by their prominent nose and chin, and by being darker than the 
Copt, but not so dark as the Arab. 

The Copts and Jews are the general shop-keepers in Egypt ; and in 
the part called the Frank town of Alexandria there is a considerable 
number of shops, in which cutlery of a very inferior quality, and 
woollen and linen drapery of various kinds are offered for sale. The 
muslin in these shops was very coarse. The woollen cloth was prin- 
cipally of German manufacture, of a thin though tolerably fine texture, 
narrower than English cloth, and much cheaper than the latter. Of 
this cloth, which is of various colours, the most esteemed being green 
and flesh coloured, there are many hundred bales sold annually in 
Cairo. There is another sort, a red cloth of a stronger manufacture, 
of which the Mamelukes make their trowsers, and this also is German. 
In the cloths and linens of that country there was formerly a con- 
siderable trade carried on between Venice and Trieste, and Alexan- 
dria, the returns being in gums, senna, corn, and rice. 



( 407 ) 



JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE 

UP THE NILE BETWEEN PHIL^E AND IBRIM IN NUBIA, * 

IN THE MONTH OF MAY, IS 14. 
{BY CAPT. LIGHT.] 

Mr. Legh and his companion have communicated some valuable remarks concerning 
parts of Nubia: and the following journal of Captain Light will give additional inform- 
ation respecting the antiquities of the country, and the manners of the people. 

The conquests of the Mahometans and the destruction of Christianity have been followed 
in Nubia, as in other parts of the Turkish empire, by the most complete depopulation 
and barbarism. Seventeen bishoprics were formerly enumerated in the different pro- 
vinces of Nubia; the towns of Ibrim and Dongola were under the jurisdiction of two 
of them. " Mais faute de Pasteurs" (says Vansleb f), "le Christianisme est aujourd'hui 
entierement eteint dans tout ce royaume." The Oases also were once peopled by many 
Coptic Christians : and the names of some of the Bishops who presided over that district 
are mentioned in the history of the Patriarchs of Alexandria. Part of the first epistle 
of St. Paul to the Corinthians, published by Munter and Georgi in a dialect different 
from that of the Memphitic or Saidic is supposed to have been written in the language 
of the people of the Oases. 

The author of the Kitab el Fehrest speaks cf the Nubian characters %', and the Nubian lan- 
guage is mentioned by Macrizy (Desc. de l'Eg. torn. ii. fol. 180.) ; but Syrian, Coptic, 
and Greek letters were adopted by the inhabitants, when Christianity was introduced 
among them ; and we learn from Abou Selah that their liturgy and prayers were in 
Greek; the same thing is also stated by Abdallah of Assouan. § As late as the begin- 
ning of the fifteenth century, the time when Macrizy wrote, the women and children of 
Upper Egypt had a perfect acquaintance with Greek. The Arabic language has 
gradually prevailed in that country ; but in Nubia, Captain Light found that a know- 
ledge of it was of little use to the traveller. A different idiom is there spoken; and this 
is pointed out by Leo Africanus in the following passage : " Beyond Assouan are villages 
peopled by men of black colour, whose language is a mixture of Arabic, Egyptian, and 
^Ethiopian." — Quatremere Rech. sur 1'Egypte. — Ed. 

Assouan, May 7. — I arrived at Assouan, anciently Syene. in the 
usual course by a boat from Boulac. Hence I found the navigation 

* " La "Nubie commence au bourg nomme al-Kasr, situe a 5 milles de la ville d' Assouan." 
— From the History of Nubia, by Abdallah native of Assouan. — See Quatremere, Mem. 
Geog. sur 1'Egypte. f Hist, de l'Eg. d'Alex. p. 30. 

X The Bashmouric was supposed to be the language of the Nubian?, by Longuerue; but 
this opinion has been controverted by Quatremere, who has shown that the Bashmourites 
were inhabitants of Lower Egypt. — Rech. sur l'Egy. 163. 

§ Quoted by Quatremere, p. 23. in his Memoire sur la Nubie. 



408 



JOURNAL RELATING TO NUBIA. 



stopped by the rocks, with which the river at this place is filled, and 
the channel so divided and reduced in the ordinary state of the stream, 
as not to leave sufficient breadth or depth for boats. I therefore 
quitted mine to proceed by land to the shore opposite Philae, and 
procured asses for the journey. 

On the 10th of May I left Assouan, attended by an English 
servant and an Arab from my boat, having two asses for riding, and 
three for the baggage ; accompanied by Osman, the son of the Sheik 
of Assouan, as guide and guard, and proceeded through the ruins of 
the Arab town on the heights above Assouan. The desart here on 
every side is broken by large masses of granite, most of which had 
hieroglyphic characters sculptured on them. We arrived in about 
two hours at the shore opposite to Philas. 

This place called by the natives Selwajoud, by Norden El HeifT, 
merits all that has been said respecting the temples, and other 
structures of antiquity which are to be found there. I remained at 
Philas until the evening of the 11th. It was on the morning of that 
day that I first saw the destruction caused by the locusts, of which an 
immense swarm obscured the sky.* In a few hours after their 
arrival, the palm trees were stripped of their foliage, and the ground 
of its herbage. Men, women, and children employed themselves in 
vain attempts to prevent the locusts from settling, howling repeatedly 
the name of Geraad, the Arab and Nubian word for locusts ; throwing 
sand in the air, beating the ground with sticks, and at night lighting 
fires. Yet they seemed to bear the loss of their harvests without 
murmur, blessing God that they had not the plague, which they said 
always raged at Cairo when the locusts appeared ; this was actually 
the case at that time. 



* " They darkened the sun" says the Prophet Joel, ii. 10., speaking of the flight of the 
locusts. The word is written by Russel girad, Gryllus migratorius. L. In many parts 
of Turkey the locust-birxl, Turdus Roseus, providentially appears at the same time with 
the locusts and destroys great numbers. In some seasons when the grain of the corn is 
too far advanced, these insects attack the cotton plants, mulberry, and fig leaves. — Russell, 



JOURNAL RELATING TO NUBIA. 409 

I hired a boat of the inhabitants of the east shore opposite to 
Fhilas, which though of smaller size than the one I left at Assouan, 
was large enough to enable me to lay my bed cross-ways at the stern ; 
four men made the crew ; and a mat arched on some palm-branches 
served for a skreen against the sun. 

May 12. — Early in the morning we sailed up the river, and in 
consequence of the wind failing, moored at Ser Ali, on the east bank, 
where we observed some crocodiles. About half way between Philse 
and Ser Ali on the west bank are the remains of a temple, in a village 
called Deboo ; on the cultivated spots in the neighbourhood are many 
sheep and cows, with plantations of palm-trees. 

May 13. — Detained at Ser Ali by Kamseen winds, which set in 
with an obscure sky ; the sun becoming pale, as seen through a dis- 
coloured glass. 

May 14. — Arrived at Gartaas, (called by Norden, Hindau), on 
the west bank, where I landed to examine the architectural ruins, of 
which there are many at intervals, for the space of nearly two miles. 
The first and most southern is a square inclosure of masonry, of one 
hundred and fifty-three paces, its greatest height sixteen feet ; its 
thickness about ten. In the south and north sides there are gateways ; 
that in the north is nearly in the centre, and has a cornice, on which 
is a winged globe, and the outline of a symbolic figure cut on one of 
the stones. Beyond this, going northward, amongst some quarries of 
sandy free-stone, is a narrow passage open at the top, cut by art ; on 
each side of which at intervals are hieroglyphics coarsely sculptured, 
and the outline of a Monolithic temple. This passage leads to a 
part of the rock on which is a shallow recess ; here I saw the half- 
length figures of men in full relief ; the heads are defaced ; they have 
drapery about the shoulders and arms, and appear to have in their 
hands the wand and whip of the Egyptian mythology ; the former 
being a symbol of power ; the latter the Flagellum sometimes given 
to Osiris, at others to the genii Averrunci. They are about three 
feet high, and are cut out of the rock. 

Above and below these figures are numerous Greek inscriptions 

3 G 



410 



JOURNAL RELATING TO NUBIA. 



cut in tablets, and at the bottom of the whole are rudely formed 
hieroglyphics. At a short distance to the north are the remains of 
a small temple, consisting of six columns beautifully finished with 
capitals : two of them facing the north engaged in a wall forming the 
entrance ; their capitals are heads of Isis, supporting a plinth on which 
are cut Monolithic temples ; the other four, two on the west and two 
on the east, are engaged in a wall half their height ; the capitals vary ; 
but the opposite, or the east and west, are alike. Those at the south 
angles have the grape and wheat-ear worked under the volutes. The 
shafts are about three feet in diameter ; the distance between them 
about ten ; the north front is thirty feet ; the east and west thirty-six ; 
on the latter, towards the base, two or three symbolic figures have 
been sculptured. On one of the columns are some Greek characters 
beginning with the usual form to Tryoa-mvypv. 

The west bank of the river in the neighbourhood of Gartaas is 
almost a desart ; a few huts scattered amongst the ruins afford shelter 
to the inhabitants. The opposite shore has some degree of cultivation, 
and the mountains are a little distant from the banks of the river. 

May 15. — Arrived at Taeefa on the west bank, above which 
the sides of the river become bold and craggy, and near this place 
is the entrance to the Shellaal * or cataract of Galabshee ; here 
Mr. Buckingham, a gentleman who had lately ascended the Nile 
as far as Dukkey, lays down the tropic of Cancer. Taeefa, con- 
tains several remains of ancient buildings scattered about on an open 
cultivated spot of more than a mile in length, and about half in breadth, 
bounded by the desart and its mountains. The village might contain 
two or three hundred inhabitants, and had a Sheik who regulated their 
labour and subsistence. The doom and palm-tree flourished here. 

The antiquities consist of several spacious oblong enclosures of 
masonry of not more than three or four feet in height. In the centre 
of the plain, separated from each other, are two buildings, one com- 
plete, having the form of a portico, the other in ruins, seems to be 



* Je scai de divers Nubiens qu'il s'en trouve sept ou huit de remarquables cataractes, 
depuis Sai au dessous de Dongola, jusqu'a Assouan. — Maillct. p. 42. 



JOURNAL RELATING TO NUBIA, 



411 



part of an early Christian church. The first is almost blocked up by 
a mass of mud, and is surrounded by the hovels of the natives. It 
is a pyramidal portico facing the south, having two columns almost 
engaged in a wall to the bottom of the capitals, which represent the 
full blown lotus, and support an entablature and cornice. Between 
this column and the sides are small door-ways with a cornice and frieze; 
and above these a second and third cornice, in each of which is the 
winged globe. The frieze has a bead and leaf worked on it. The 
front of this building is about twenty-seven feet in length ; the inside 
is perfect, having a roof supported by four columns standing on a 
plain circular base, their capitals forming the full-blown lotus. On 
one of the walls inside is a cross of Maltese form. 

The second building is open to the east ; the west wall is perfect ; 
in this is a door-way, and within, in front, are two columns with 
capitals of the full-blown lotus, supporting a small portion of roof. 
Scriptural paintings with figures as large as those of life remain on 
the walls, and over the cornice of the door-way is the winged globe. 
In front of the open side lie several capitals, broken shafts, and other 
fragments of buildings. 

I was detained at Taeefa the 16th by the Kamseen wind, which 
changed in the evening to the north and west, driving the sands of 
the desart for many miles, with so much violence as to obscure the 
air, and hide from view the rocks close to the boat. The storm con- 
tinued for two hours with violent gusts, attended with thunder and 
lightning ; it ceased at last with a torrent of rain. During the 
tempest, my guide Osman was chaunting the praises of God and 
the prophet in a most discordant voice ; while the boatmen trembling 
and shrinking from the storm, hid themselves in the bottom of the boat. 

May 17. — We rowed through the Shellaal of Galabshee. This 
is the name given to those parts of the stream that are interrupted by 
rocks. Here the passage of boats is not impeded, as at Assouan, 
where the Nile is lost in streams of two, three, and four feet in 
breadth, which interrupt the navigation, except during the inunda- 
tion, when, as I was informed, very small boats and rafts may pass 

3 g 2 



412 



JOURNAL RELATING TO NUBIA. 



the Shellaal. At Galabshee, the Nile flowing with a wide and beauti- 
ful course, divides itself among several rocks and uninhabited islands ; 
the river increases in breadth, as it enters into a grand amphitheatre 
of bold and craggy rocks, interspersed with cultivated spots of 
ground extending for about a mile ; then contracting itself, as it ap- 
proaches Taeefa, it resumes its ordinary breadth. On the eastern 
bank on an elevated spot are the remains of an Arab mud-built 
castle, and on one of the islands those of a village and another castle, 
which, though of bad construction, prove that a greater degree of 
civilization had formerly marked this place. Beyond, the rocks re- 
cede, become lower, and the land appears cultivated. The village of 
Galabshee, which Norden by mistake places opposite to Taeefa, is 
close to the opening on the west bank, and has a larger population 
than Taeefa. The inhabitants live in huts round a ruined temple. 
They seemed more jealous of my appearance among them, than any 
of this country whom I had hitherto seen. I was surrounded by 
them, and " bucksheesh, bucksheesh" (a present) echoed from all 
quarters, before they would allow me to look at the temple. One 
more violent than the rest threw dust in the air *, the signal both of 
rage and defiance, ran for his shield, and came towards me dancing, 
howling, and striking the shield with the head of his javelin, to inti- 
midate me. A promise of a present pacified him and enabled me to 
make my remarks and sketches. . . 

A butment of masonry rises above the bank of the river, at about 
one hundred and seventy or eighty feet from the front of the temple, 
to which a paved approach leads from the butment ; on each side of 
this pavement there formerly had been an avenue of Sphinxes, one 
of which was lying headless near the pavement. At the end, steps 
appear to have been raised, leading to a terrace of thirty-six feet in 
breadth, from which rise two pyramidal moles with a gateway between 



* " And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices and 
said, Away with such a f low from the earth ; — and as they cried out, and cast off their 
clothes, and threw dust into the air" — Acts of the Apost. xxii. 



JOURNAL RELATING TO NUBIA. 



413 



them, forming a front of about one hundred and ten feet. The upper 
part of the moles to within three or four layers of stone above the 
gateway was in ruins. The moles are eighteen or twenty feet thick, 
of solid masonry ; within is a court of about forty feet, now filled with 
broken shafts and capitals ; it appears to have had a colonnade to the 
side walls joining the moles with the portico. The latter consists of 
four columns, a lateral wall divides this portico from a suite of four 
inner apartments, the door-ways to which have the winged globe in 
the cornice. Three of these apartments are covered with hierogly- 
phics and symbolic figures ; there are remains of colouring very fresh 
and clear. All the apartments are encumbered with ruins, and have 
scarcely any ceiling left, 

The front of the portico is plain, with the exception of a winged 
globe over the gateway. Within are scriptural paintings ; a head 
similar to those represented in the churches of the Greeks appears 
with a nimbus around it, above the ruins on the wall of the last apart- 
ment, with some Greek characters. The moles have no hieroglyphics 
or symbolic figures excepting a few at the gateway, and these are in 
the first outline. The shafts of the columns are nearly six feet in 
diameter ; the height appears to contain from five to six diameters, 
a common proportion in Egyptian architecture. On a column is a 
Greek inscription in red letters*; there are two more also which I 
did not copy, and one in Coptic. 

May 18. — In the morning we sailed, but were obliged to moor 
below Abouhore on the east bank, which is enclosed by barren rocks 
of sand-stone and granite ; I mounted to the summit of these and 
found the whole country to the east as far as the eye could reach 
broken into masses of rock presenting a most frightful and desolate 
appearance. On the shore I observed remains of Roman brick- 
work. 

May 19. — We reached Abouhore, and were again obliged to stop. 
Here the hills recede and leave a large space of ground for cultivation 



* See the remarks on Greek inscriptions at the end of the volume. 



414 



JOURNAL RELATING TO NUBIA. 



watered by wheels, and bearing more marks of civilization than the 
other villages, and the inhabitants appeared more industrious. Their 
huts were thickly scattered among numerous palm-trees. Here there 
is a small Shellaal which leaves only a narrow passage to the west ; 
on the other part there is a low ridge of rocks. Opposite to Abouhore, 
placed as if to command this passage, is a ruined Arab castle of 
unbaked bricks. At Abouhore an assembly of women was collected 
howling over the dead body of a child. 

May 20. — We arrived by means of towing at Garsery, called by 
Norden, Garbe Dendour, on the west bank, where I landed to visit 
the ruins. Nothing can be considered more barren than the rocks 
and hills on each side, passed in the course of this day. The few 
huts I saw, were made of loose stones cemented by mud, and covered 
with a flat roof of straw or branches of palm-trees. The ruins at Gar- 
sery consist of a front of masonry of three sides, enclosing a portico 
and gateway. The longest side is about one hundred feet, and faces 
the river ; the height above the ground is ten feet. In the centre of 
the enclosure is a gateway ; the side stones are covered with hiero- 
glyphics ; beyond is the portico of a small temple, which consists of 
the usual pyramidal front ; the entablature is perfect ; the capitals 
of the columns are alike, presenting the form of the full-blown lotus ; 
the symbol among the sacred plants of Egypt, most commonly 
appropriated to Osiris. A lateral wall separates this portico from two 
inner chambers. 

May 21. — Having passed the remains of a portico at Garshee, we 
moored nearly opposite to Dukkey on the east side. 

May 22. — Having crossed from our mooring-place, I landed and 
skirted the desart for the space of an hour, passing frequently over 
Roman tiles and brick, and arrived at the temple of Dukkey. The 
front faces the north close to the river, and consists of two pyramidal 
moles with a gateway complete; a cornice and torus surround the whole. 
The dimensions of the front are about seventy-five feet in length, 
forty in height, and fifteen in depth. The walls are without hieroglyphics. 



JOURNAL RELATING TO NUBIA. 



415 



In the cornice over the gateway is the winged globe. * In each of 
the moles in the inside front, are small doorways ornamented in a 
similar manner, leading by a stone staircase to small chambers, and 
to the top. A court of about forty feet in depth separates the moles 
from a pyramidal portico, in which are two columns engaged half 
their height in a wall elevated in the centre, forming the entrance. 
The depth of the portico is about eighteen feet ; the ceiling of it is 
almost perfect, composed of single stones, reaching from the front 
to the back part. Between the centre columns are winged scarabsei-f- ; 
on the other part are scriptural paintings. A lateral wall divides the 
portico from three inner chambers ; the ceiling of these are im- 
perfect ; the symbolic figures in the third room are larger than in 
the other parts of the building. The upper part of the side walls of 
the portico have the remains of some scriptural designs, representing 
men on horseback approaching towards angels, whose hands seem 
lifted up in supplication. The whole was surrounded by a wall ex- 
tending from the two extremes of the moles. Over the gate of the 
portico are some Greek characters, in the place where the winged globe 
is usually seen. 

rnEPAS . . . 
GEO . . . 

A variety of inscriptions found about the gateway of the moles, 
prove that this temple was erected to Mercury. J From Dukkey, 
where the rocks and desart begin to leave room for cultivation on the 
banks of the Nile, we proceeded up the river, and in a short time 
were hailed from the western shore by a follower of the Cashief of 
Deir. We were obliged to pay him a visit, and found him sitting 



* The device so common on the temples of Egypt, and symbolical of the anirna mundi. 
— Shaw, 358. 

f Probably of the form referred to in the Men. Is. Exp. 61. Pandit alienasalas Scara- 
baeus, Solis imago. 

X See the remarks on Greek inscriptions at the end of the volume. 



416 



JOURNAL RELATING TO NUBIA. 



under a shady palm-tree on a carpet, surrounded by some dirty half- 
naked attendants. He rose on my approaching him, bade me sit 
down by him, and placed a cushion under my elbow. His visit to 
the village (named Ouffeddoonee,) was for the purpose of passing 
some days here with two of his wives, of whom he is said to have 
thirty living in different parts of his territory, and among whom he 
divides his time. He was dressed in a coarse linen shirt and turban ; 
was without slippers ; he alone of the whole party held a pipe in his 
hand. I presented him with a telescope and small pocket-knife; 
these he was at first inclined to refuse, saying I was welcome without 
an offering. A pipe, dates, and coffee were brought to me. His 
attendants sat down by us in a circle, and many trifling questions 
were asked of me by all. My wearing apparel was examined ; I was 
questioned about my rank, what number of soldiers my king com- 
manded, how many wives he had, in what garrison I was, how far 
off, what number of guns it contained, and whether my Pasha, 
meaning my commanding officer, had power of life and death. 

The Cashief whose name is Hassan is one of three brothers, 
hereditary chiefs of the country between Philas and Dongola. He is 
a handsome young man of about twenty-five years of age, and his 
territory extends from Philae to Deir. He has a nominal absolute 
power, which however he does not exercise oppressively, nor does he 
interfere much between the quarrels of the natives. 

He gave me a letter to his son, a boy of ten years of age, left at 
Deir, from whom I was to receive all necessary protection and 
assistance ; on my leaving him he presented me with a sheep. Pro- 
ceeding; hence, we observed the hills to be at a considerable distance 
from the river ; we arrived at Naboo on the west, where they again 
appear in rocks of sand-stone. From Naboo the river winds east 
and west, the hills sometimes receding on one side, and on the other 
bold rocks reach to the water's edge. 

May 23. — Having sailed part of the night, and the wind con- 
tinuing fair, we passed Seboo on the west bank, where the propyla of 
a temple are seen at about two hundred yards from the water-side, 



JOURNAL RELATING TO NUBIA. 



417 



the rest of the temple appears to be almost buried in the sand. A 
few palm-trees and small strips of cultivated land, with here and there 
a miserable hut, serve to show that the country is not entirely 
abandoned. We passed El Garba on the east, where the Nile flows 
close to the base of the mountains, which present a wild and dreary 
appearance. 

May 24. — We towed from our mooring-place a few miles to El 
Kharaba. At Songaree the Nile takes a bold turn to the west, and 
we continued in that direction to El Kharaba. At CrOska, there is a 
small Shellaal on the eastern side, opposite to which at Erreiga is a 
mud fort. 

The west bank is almost a desart ; the east continues with bold 
rocks and hills, lined with villages of a better construction than those 
on the west ; the buildings here consisting only of stones or of poles 
covered with mats on palm-branches. 

May 25. — Arrived at Deir, which is a long straggling village of 
mud cottages, situated in a thickly planted grove of palm-trees. The 
cashief's house, the best I had seen since I left Cairo, is built of 
baked and unbaked brick ; in front is a rude colonnade forming a sort 
of caravansera. Adjoining to it is a mosque, the only one I had 
observed since I quitted Philse. The village is about a mile in length ; 
its population must be considerable, though I could never obtain any 
other answer to questions on this subject, than " many." 

I landed and went to a mud building used as a caravansera, in 
which were horses; and waited until the cashief's son could be 
sent for. 

A Mamaluke with a Greek for his attendant had lately come there 
from Dongola as a merchant. From him I heard that the Mamalukes 
had taken possession of the country on the western bank of the Nile 
opposite to Dongola, where they had been driven by the pasha of Egypt ; 
that they were in force about eleven hundred, under Ibrahim Bey, the 
partner and competitor in power with Mourad Bey at the time when the 
French took possession of Egypt ; that after destroying the petty 
chiefs of the country, they had armed five or six thousand blacks ; 

3 H 



418 



JOURNAL RELATING TO NUBIA. 



and that one of their beys had been able to cast cannon ; and that 
among the Mamalukes there were eight English and ten French 
deserters. The Greek, who at first pretended to be a Turk, took me 
aside, showed me the sign of the cross upon his arm, and by way of 
exciting my compassion, broke out in bad English, into execrations of 
the Turkish government. 

After waiting a short time in the caravansera, the son of the cashief, 
the boy before mentioned, came in, attended by a number of half- 
clothed inhabitants, squatted himself down in one quarter of the 
room, took me by the hand and welcomed me. On receiving his 
father's letter he got up, ran out to hear it read by the imam, and 
returned presently, offering me any thing I wished. He was about 
to order food to be brought to me, but being told that I should not 
eat it, he begged me to return to my boat, and in the evening visit 
him again. When I arrived at the boat, I found he had sent 
me a kid and a bowl of bread, in the centre of which was the usual 
preserve of dates, for which I returned him a present of a gold ring 
of trifling value. In the evening I went on shore, and the little 
cashief rather better dressed than in the morning, having the addition 
of a sword by his side, and my ring on his thumb, received me in 
the open air with an affectation of manly dignity, seated himself on 
the ground, and formed his divan. Having replied to his questions, 
and obtained a promise of horses for myself and Osman, to enable 
me to cross the desart that night and visit Ibrim, I took my leave, 
and went to the rocks behind the village, followed by a numerous 
party of the natives, who came in hopes of seeing me discover treasure 
in the ruins, which they suppose to be the object of the visits of 
Europeans. When I arrived at the rocks which are close behind the 
village, I found that the supposed temple was only a large excavation, 
evidently a burial-place. The approach to it was through two rows 
of incomplete square pillars hewn out of the rock. At the end of 
this approach is a rude sort of portico composed of four square 
pillars, with an entablature; a ceiling, the greatest part of which 
is fallen down, connected these pillars with the front of the exca- 



JOURNAL RELATING TO NUBIA. 



419 



vation. On the outside front of the pillars of the portico are the 
lower parts of whole length statues in full relief, whose height 
originally extended to the top of the entablature. They appear to 
have been represented with a casque of a conical form, and stand on 
square bases. The front of the excavation is seven feet thick. There 
are two entrances, the largest between the two centre pillars is almost 
blocked up by the stones of the ceiling; on the right is a smaller 
entrance. The interior is divided by a lateral wall of rock into two 
sets of chambers. The first is the largest, is about sixty-nine feet 
in length, by forty in breadth ; its ceiling, the rock, is supported by 
two rows of square pillars ; three in each, with a coarse entablature. 
The front of the excavation and the interior have hieroglyphics and 
symbolic figures ; there are also remains of colouring. 

In the neighbourhood of this excavation are several square holes 
opening to vaults, the top of whose arches appear. Bones and pieces 
of cloth like those which are seen in mummy pits are found lying 
around. The sides of the openings are well finished ; on one I 
traced a cross preceding some Greek characters, which mentioned 
TOT AITOY ANTONIOT. These were the first Greek inscriptions I 
had observed, relating to the early Christian inhabitants of this 
country. 

Having made my remarks and sketches, I determined to set out 
on my expedition to Ibrim. Leaving my servants in the boat, I 
armed myself, and attended by Osman and two of the cashief's 
servants, I set off at about eight o'clock at night. We proceeded by 
the light of the moon over the barren and rocky mountains of the 
desart in continual danger from the difficulty of the road. About an 
hour after midnight we arrived at Ibrim*; but there was still some 
distance to what the natives called the temple. As the moon had 
gone down, and the rest of the road was over rocks by the river side, 



* Anciently Premnisparva, Strabo, lib. xvii. ; or, according to Pliny, Primis. — See 
also Legh's Journey, p. 79. 

3 h 2 



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we halted ; one of the natives brought me a mat, on which I laid 
myself down and soon fell asleep. 

May 26. — Early in the morning I proceeded by the water-side 
under high cliffs towards the temple, and found merely a ruined 
castle of considerable size, seated on a high rock separated from the 
rest of the hills by a ravine on each side. Square towers connected by 
walls of rude stones piled one on the other and strengthened by trunks 
of palm-trees, and shafts of columns laid transversely, compose the 
works. The interior presents the ruins of an Arab town, consisting 
of a mosque of stone, with mud and stone dwelling-houses. Shafts, 
capitals, and columns of grey granite are scattered about, on which I 
distinguished the Maltese cross. This castle is probably one erected 
by Selim the Second. 

On my return I was shown an excavation in one of the rocks ; I 
visited it, and found it to consist of a chamber twenty feet wide and 
ten deep. Opposite the door is a recess forming a seat, and above are 
three figures sitting sculptured in high relief; but they are much 
defaced. On the walls of the chamber are hieroglyphics ; I distin- 
guished also the Greek letters Alio on one of the sides, and the form 
of a cross. Proceeding through the village, I was met by a venerable 
old man, who, I found, was called the Aga ; in a friendly and hospi- 
table manner he invited me " to tarry until the sun was gone down ; 
to alight, refresh myself, and partake of the food he would prepare for 
the stranger." I gladly accepted his invitation ; a clean mat was 
spread for me under the shade of the wall of his house, and refresh- 
ments, consisting of wheaten cake broken into small bits, and put 
into water, sweetened with date-juice, were brought to me in a 
wooden bowl ; then curds, with liquid butter and preserved dates, 
and lastly some milk. 

Having taken what I wanted, I entered the door of the Aga's 
house, which, like all the rest, was of mud ; I found myself in a 
room separated from the other part of the house by a court, and 
covered by a simple roof of palm-tree branches. This was the 
place of his divan, and here my mat and cushion were brought to me, 



JOURNAL RELATING TO NUBIA. 



421 



and the natives flocked around with their usual questions, whether I 
came to look for money, whether Christians or Moslems, English 
or French built the temples. They could not comprehend the use of 
the pencil ; nor did they understand for what purpose a pocket-fork 
which I showed them was made ; nor had they any name for it. 

The Aga having prepared a dinner for me, invited several of the 
inhabitants to sit down. Water was brought in a skin by an attendant 
to wash our hands. Two fowls roasted were served up on wheaten 
cakes in a wooden bowl, covered with a small mat, and a number of 
the same cakes in another ; in the centre of these were liquid butter 
and preserved dates. These were divided, broken up, and mixed 
together by some of the party, while others pulled the fowls to pieces; 
when this was done, the party began to eat with great eagerness ; 
rising up one after the other as soon as they had satisfied their 
appetites. 

During my visit, I observed an old Imam attempt to perform a cure 
on one of the natives, who came to him on account of a head-ache 
from which he suffered much pain. This was done in the following 
manner : — The patient seated himself near the Imam, who, putting 
his finger and thumb to the patient's forehead, closed them gradually 
together, pinching the skin into wrinkles as he advanced, uttering a 
prayer, spitting on the ground, and lastly on the part affected. 
This continued for about a quarter of an hour, and the patient rose 
up, thoroughly convinced that he should soon be well. 

A superstitious kind of regard seems to be paid by the Egyptians 
to this mode of cure ; for at Erment, the ancient Hermonthis, an 
aged woman applied to me for a medicine for a disease in her eyes, 
and on my giving her some directions of which she did not seem to 
approve, she requested me to spit on them ; I did so, and she went 
away, blessing me, and perfectly satisfied of the certainty of a cure. 

The Aga told me that his town extended for three miles ; that the 
government was divided between himself and another (independent 
of the Cashief of Deir), by a firman from the Pasha of Egypt ; that 
it had suffered from the flight of the Mamalukes and pursuit of the 



422 



JOURNAL RELATING TO NUBIA. 



Turks. The whole town lies amongst palm-trees ; is built without 
regularity, and bears marks of the ravages of war. The houses are 
formed in squares of mud of one story high ; the roofs are of palm- 
branches laid flat. On passing through it the night before, I found 
that the inhabitants were lying on the outside of their doors, in the 
open air on mats, each containing five or six persons. 

Having taken leave of the Aga, we returned homewards by the 
water-side, which was lined by rocks of considerable height, some- 
times close to the river, sometimes retiring and leaving room for 
cultivation. I observed on some of them many hieroglyphic charac- 
ters well cut, generally having the figure of some animal in the 
centre over the inscription. I arrived at Deir in the evening, and 
after receiving a visit from the little Cashief, I descended the river 
with the stream. The boat was now prepared for rowing, and was 
stripped of its masts and sails ; the boatmen keeping time to their 
oars in a loud hoarse song. 

May 27. — We arrived at Seboo, where I landed, to examine the 
remains of the temple there. The sand of the desart has almost 
covered the portico and court in front. It consists of two pyramidal 
moles facing the east ; they are not more than thirty feet above the 
sand ; their front is in length ninety feet ; the gateway six in width, 
and twenty in height. A cornice and torus surround the moles, and 
the upper part of the gateway, which is twelve feet thick, and opens 
to a court almost filled with sand, in front of the portico, whose roof 
appears to be formed from the rock. It is oined to the moles by a 
colonnade of three square pillars on each side, on the front of which 
are disfigured statues in high relief half buried in the sand. The 
entablature of this colonnade is of single stones from pillar to pillar, 
twelve feet long, four broad, and three deep. On these and on the 
walls are hieroglyphics and representations of a deity receiving offer- 
ings, a subject very common in Egyptian sculpture. Two rows of 
sphinxes led to the temple. The first was placed at about fifty 
paces from the front. There are five remaining uncovered with 
sand ; three of these are seen in full length above the ground, and 



JOURNAL RELATING TO NUBIA. 



423 



the heads only of two others. The distance between each as they 
are placed in line, is eighteen feet ; between the opposite rows, thirty 
feet. They are about eleven feet from the nose to the extreme parts. 
The two first are much decayed, or were never finished ; the third, 
making the second in the left row, is highly finished ; but the head, 
which lies near it, has been struck off : the work of the head in the 
opposite row is equally well executed. Between the two front 
sphinxes are gigantic figures in alto relievo on pilasters. They are 
about fourteen feet high, and formed the entrance to the avenue. 
They have the left leg advanced ; they wear a breast-plate and pyra- 
midal casque, and are four feet broad across the shoulders. On the 
back of the pilasters are hieroglyphics as well as on that part of the 
pilasters left uncovered by the statues. Similar statues, now thrown . 
down, stood in front of the gateway of the moles ; one of them is 
buried in the ground up to the waist, the other shows the whole length, 
but is half covered with sand. All these are of the same hard sand- 
stone as the moles. I could not discover any Greek inscriptions. 

May 28. — Having left Seboo the evening before, we arrived at 
Ouffendoonee, where there are architectural remains in the neigh- 
bourhood of a considerable village. I landed, and near the water- 
side found an oblong building of about fifty-four feet in length, and 
thirty in breadth, which seems to have been part of a Christian 
church. There are sixteen columns, six on the north and south sides, 
and four on the east and west, all perfect, of about two feet three 
inches in diameter. At the east end a sort of chancel projects south- 
ward at right angles with the south columns, on which are painted 
scriptural figures, like those in the churches of the modern Greeks. 
The capitals are not alike, nor do they appear to have been finished. 
They support a die and entablature composed of single stones from 
column to column, about six feet in length ; the shafts are proportion- 
ably small. I saw many painted Greek inscriptions on the frieze of 
the interior, in small characters, which I could scarcely distinguish ; 
the first words of all were TO riPOIKTNHMA ; in the centre of the 
frieze at the west end on a small stone tablet was the word IOHANNI 
painted in red letters. 



424 



JOURNAL RELATING TO NUBIA. 



In front of the south columns are several rows of stones in regular 
order, apparently part of the building thrown down, on which were 
hieroglyphics, and on one there were Greek characters which I could 
not trace. A bare wall near the south-east end of this ruin, contains 
figures of ordinary sculpture, but evidently alluding to scriptural 
subjects. 

Below OufFendoonee we passed a caravan of Gelabs (slave-mer- 
chants) from Dongola on their way to Siout. I observed that they 
were more attentive to the forms of the Mahometan religion than 
the natives of these parts, of whom I had scarcely seen any attending 
to its ceremonies. 

May 29, 30. — I continued descending the Nile to the cataracts of 
Galabshee, where I was tempted to land for the purpose of sketching 
the grand scene they presented to my view ; but as we approached the 
shore the people of the neighbourhood ran down with their weapons 
dancing and howling, and appeared to be inclined to oppose my 
landing ; I therefore continued my voyage. 

May 31. — Arrived at Deboo. Here, on landing to examine the 
ruins of the temple which I have already mentioned, I found the 
greatest part of the inhabitants of the village had taken refuge in its 
enclosure to protect themselves against the attacks of the people of 
a neighbouring district, who, to avenge the murder of one of their 
own body by an inhabitant of Deboo, committed nightly depredations 
on the latter village ; ham-stringing cattle, which they could not 
carry off, plundering and murdering every male inhabitant they could 
find ; and these atrocities were to be committed until one of the 
family of the murderer was sacrificed to their revenge. Not knowing 
how soon their enemies might appear, 1 contented myself with taking 
a general view of the ruins. 

They consist of three gates to pyramidal moles ; of these last no 
traces now remain. The gates are behind each other at unequal 
distances, and beyond the last a portico of four columns with entabla- 
ture, cornice, and side walls in high preservation. 



JOURNAL RELATING TO NUBIA. 425 

The first gate is plain, with a cornice and fillet above the door-way, 
which is about sixteen feet high ; the masonry of it is twelve feet 
thick ; there are openings at the top differing from any thing I had 
seen in other temples, and which in fortification would be called 
orgues. 

The second gateway is twenty-two paces distant, and has a winged 
globe in the cornice ; the next is nine paces distant, and the portico 
is fourteen paces from this. 

The breadth of the latter is nearly sixty feet ; the columns are 
plain, with the capitals of the centre differing from those on the 
sides ; they are half engaged in a wall. The centre is raised to form 
a gateway ; the depth of the portico is about fourteen feet, and has 
hieroglyphics in the interior. The ceiling of the portico was com- 
posed of single stones reaching from the front to the hinder part ; 
three of them remain. The portico is divided by a lateral wall from 
several small rooms, which seem to be mere passages to the sanctuary ; 
on the side walls of the first are hieroglyphics and figures ; beyond is 
a second chamber ; and last of all the sanctuary ; in which are two 
Monolithic temples of single blocks of granite in high preservation 
and much ornamented. The largest is about twelve feet long and 
three wide ; the other rather smaller. The last rooms are without 
hieroglyphics, and the doors without cornice or ornament. The second 
room and side chambers have ceilings ; that of the sanctuary is in 
ruins. The whole depth from the front of the portico to the end is 
seventy feet. The shafts of the columns are about fifteen feet high 
and three in diameter, and without ornament. 

June 1. — I arrived at Philse soon after sunrise. The approach to 
this place from the south presented a view still more sublime and 
magnificent than that from the north and west. If it was placed, as is 
generally stated, on the boundary * line of the ancient kingdom, and 



* The word Philae is not, according to M. Quatremere, derived from the Greek, but 
from the Egyptian Pilakh extremite, alluding to its being the frontier town of Egypt. — 
Mem. sur l'Egypte, i. 388. For the Greek origin of the word see Tillemont H. des Em. iv. 

3 I 



426 



JOURNAL RELATING TO NUBIA. 



formed an entrance to it, the sight of so much grandeur and mag- 
nificence, when the temples and other buildings were unhurt by time 
or man, must have impressed a stranger with awe and admiration of 
the people whom he was about to visit. 

The inhabitants of the shores of the Nile between Philae and 
Ibrim, seem to be a distinct race from those of the northern districts. 
The extent of this country is about one hundred and fifty miles ; 
according to my course on the Nile, I conceive it may be two 
hundred by water ; it is estimated by some travellers at much more. 
They are called by the Egyptians Goobli, meaning in Arabic, the 
people of the south. My boatman from Boulac applied this word 
generally to them all, but called those living about the cataracts, 
Berber. 

Their colour is black ; but as we advance from Cairo, the alteration 
from white to the dusky hue of the complexion is gradual, not 
sudden. Their countenance approaches to that of the Negro ; thick 
lips, flattish nose and head ; the body short and bones slender. 
Those of the leg have the curve which is observed in the Negro 
form. The hair is curled and black, but not woolly. Men of lighter 
complexion may be found among them ; they may be derived from 
intermarriages with the Arabs, or be descended from the followers of 
Selim the Second, who were left here upon his conquest of the country. 
On the other hand, at Galabshee, the people seemed to have more of 
the Negro conformation of face than elsewhere ; thicker lips, and 
hair more tufted ; as well as a more savage disposition. 

The Arabic acquired from books and a teacher, had been of very 
little use to me even in Egypt itself ; but here not even the vulgar 
dialect of the lower Nile would serve for common intercourse, except 
in that district which extends from Dukkey to Deir, where the 
Nubian is lost and Arabic prevails again. This curious circumstance, 
connected with an observation of the lighter colour of the people, 
leads to a belief that they are descended from the Arabs. The 
Nubian, when spoken, reminded me of what I had heard of the 
clucking of the Hottentots ; it seems to be a succession of mono- 



JOURNAL RELATING TO NUBIA. 



427 



syllables, accompanied with a rise and fall of voice that is not dis- 
agreeable. 

In speaking of the government, law, and religion which prevailed 
among them, I may observe, that although the cashief claims a 
nominal command of the country, it extends no farther than sending 
his soldiers to collect the tax or rent called miri. The pasha of 
Egypt was named as sovereign in all transactions from Cairo to 
Assouan. Here and beyond, as far as I went, the reigning Sultan 
Mahmood was considered the sovereign, though the cashief 's power 
was plainly feared more. 

They look for redress of injuries to their own means of revenge, 
which in cases of blood extends from one generation to another, until 
blood is repaid by blood. On this account, they are obliged to be 
ever on the watch, and armed, and in this manner even their daily 
labours are carried on. The very boys go armed. 

They profess to be followers of Mahomet, though I seldom observed 
any ritual parts of Islamism practised by them. Once, upon my 
endeavouring to make some of them comprehend the benefit of 
obedience to the rules of justice for the punishing of offences, instead 
of pursuing the offender to death in their usual manner, they quoted 
the Koran to justify their requiring blood for blood. 

The dress of the men is a linen smock, commonly brown, with a 
red or dark coloured skull-cap ; a few wear turbans and slippers. 
The women have a brown robe thrown gracefully over their head and 
body, discovering the right arm and breast, and part of one thigh 
and leg ; they are of good shape, but have ugly features. Their 
necks, arms, and ankles are adorned with beads or bone rings, and 
one nostril with a ring of bone or metal, a kind of ornament, which 
has always been adopted by the women of the East. * Their hair is 
anointed with oil of cassia, of which every village has a plantation. 
It is matted or plaited in a manner similar to that observable on the 
heads of sphinxes, and the female figures of their ancient statues. 



Isaiah, iii. 21. speaks of the " nose jewels," and Ezek. xvi. 12. — See Lowth in locum. 

3i 2 



428 



JOURNAL RELATING TO NUBIA. 



I found one at Elephantine, which might have been supposed to be 
the pattern of the mode adopted by them. The little children are 
naked ; girls wear round the body an apron of strings of raw hides, 
and boys a girdle of linen. 

Their arms are knives or daggers, fastened to the back of the 
elbows, or in the waist « javelins, tomahawks, swords of Roman 
shape, but longer, and slung behind them. Some have round shields 
of buffalo hide; and a few pistols and muskets are seen. 

Their dealings with one another or strangers are carried on more 
by way of barter than by money, which I was informed had lately 
come into general use among them. The para, which they called 
feddah, of forty to the piastre, (to which the Nubians as well as the 
Egyptians give the name goorsh,) the macboob of three piastres, 
and Spanish dollar called real, or fransowy, worth seven piastres and 
a half, were current among them. In the price of cattle, a cow sold 
for twenty macboobs, and from that to forty ; a calf from three to 
seven, a sheep from two to three. Dates and senna are their chief 
articles of trade ; and no present can be more acceptable to their 
chiefs than gunpowder of European manufacture. Corn is much 
prized by them ; the bread which they eat is commonly made of 
durra*; and is in form similar to the oatmeal cakes of Scotland, 
but thicker. Since the time of Norden, who visited the country in 
1737, 1738, great changes have happened. Some places mentioned 
by him are no longer spoken of, and perhaps lie overwhelmed with 
sand. I met with less difficulties in my voyage than he seems to 
have encountered, yet I could not extend my researches much farther 
on account of the excessive heat. There was nothing in the state of 
the country to deter me from proceeding, if I had been inclined to 



* The Holcus Durra has been introduced into Egypt only in modern times ; the same 
observation may be applied to the Arum Colocassia. On the other hand, there are trees 
and plants of which the ancient writers speak, entirely unknown to the present inhabitants 
of the country. The Nymphaea Nelumbo (faba Egyptia of the Greek botanists) is one; 
the Persea is probably another; and a species of Amyris may be added. — See Sil. de Sacy. 
Abdallatif. 47- 



JOURNAL RELATING TO NUBIA. 



429 



continue my route. The pasha's authority seemed established firmly 
enough for a traveller under his protection to proceed as far as 
Dongola, and the good understanding between him and the English 
had induced his officers to afford me every assistance. But at 
Dongola the Mamalukes held the country on the west bank, and 
perhaps would not have respected a person bearing a firman from the 
pasha. However I had often cause to observe that the late appearance 
of French and English armies in Egypt had taught the inhabitants 
every where to respect the Franks more than they used to do, although 
no opportunity seemed ever to be lost of gross cheating and impo- 
sition of every kind in all the dealings I had with them, not excepting 
the sheik of Assouan. 

I learnt that at Wawdee Elfee, four days journey above Ibrim by 
water, there were shellaals, rendering the Nile impassable, and that 
no boats could be employed on the river between that place and 
Dongola j but I could obtain no information of the state of the river 
beyond that town. The names of the villages above Ibrim on the 
west side are, as they were given to me, Washebbuk, Toshkai, Ar- 
meenee, Forgunt, Fairey, (one day on horseback) ; Guster, Andhan, 
Artinoa, Serrey, Decberrey, Ishkeer (two days) ; Sahabbak, Dabba- 
rosy, Wawdee Elfee, where are the shellaals, and the Nile is impass- 
able (four by water) ; Wawdel-howja, Owkmee, Serkey mattoo (one 
day) ; Farkey, Wawdel-walliam, Gintz, Atab, Amarra, Abbeer (two 
days) ; Tebbel, Artinoa, Koikky, Ibbourdeeky, Sawada (three days) ; 
Irraoo, Oskey mattoo, Wawroey, Koyey mattoo, Irrew, Saddecfent, 
Delleeko, Caibaa, Wawdel-mahas, Noweer, Farreet, from which to 
Dongola are two days ; in all, eight days from Wawdee Elfee. 

In this space they said there were pictures, by which they meant 
hieroglyphics, on the rocks the whole way, and at a place called Ab- 
simbal on the west bank, a day and a half from Ibrim, a temple like 
that at Seboo, and another of the same sort at a place called Farras **, 

* Besides the hieroglyph ical tablets on the rocks between Ibrim and Dongola, the na- 
tives talked of other temples than those mentioned at Farras and Absimbal, in which were 
scriptural paintings. The word soorat, or picture, they applied to hieroglyphics; they 
used it also in speaking of paintings which they compared with those on the walls of Duk- 
key ; and had pointed them out to me. 



430 



' 

JOURNAL RELATING TO NUBIA. 



three hours further on the same side. I regretted that no more in- 
formation was to be procured on this subject, because it appeared to 
me that the higher I advanced up the Nile, the signs of the early pro- 
gress and establishment of Christianity southward on its banks be- 
came more clearly ascertained in the Greek inscriptions and other 
remains of antiquity. 

I remarked that no buffalo, though very common north of Assouan, 
was to be seen between Philse and Ibrim ; crocodiles were com- 
mon here, but no hippopotamus * appeared : the natives spoke of it 
as seen during the time of the inundation in the Shellaals, particu- 
larly at Galabshee, calling it Farsh el bahr, the sea-horse. My voyage 
was made when the Nile was nearly in its lowest state, a circumstance 
which must be considered in perusing the preceding journal. 



* " Forskal nous apprend que l'hippopotame est nomine par les Egyptiens Abou-Mner. 
Je soupconne que ce nom est corrompu." S. de Sacy, 165. Abdallatif. — It appears from 
a passage in Themistius (Orat. x.) that the hippopotamus was rarely seen in Egypt in his 
time. The oration was spoken in the year 369, at Constantinople. I never saw or 
heard of the hippopotamus in Egypt, says Mr. Browne ; but in Nubia it is said to 
abound. 



( 431 ) 



THE MINES OF LAURIUM. — GOLD AND SILVER COINAGE OF THE 
ATHENIANS. — REVENUE OF ATTICA. 

The Athenians had obtained silver from the mines of Laurium as 
early as the time of Pisistratus (Herod, i. sec. 64.), or 561 B. C. ; but 
in the days of Socrates, there appears to have been a deficiency in 
the supply of the ore. (Xen. Mem. lib. iii. c. 6. § 5.) This is per- 
haps to be attributed more to the want of skill in those who sought 
for it than to the poverty of the mines ; as from a passage in Strabo 
(lib. ix.) we learn, that the smelting operations of the ancient Athe- 
nians had been very imperfect. Xenophon strongly recommends the 
Republic to take the management and direction of them, and thus 
derive a greater profit than by leaving them in the hands of indivi- 
duals, who paid a certain sum in proportion to the metal which 
they extracted (Uo^oi). The district of Laurium, according to Stuart, 
appears to have reached from Rafti near the ancient Prasise to Legre- 
na; part of this tract, he says, is called Aav^ov ogog, and is full of 
exhausted mines and scorise. When Mr. Hawkins was on his voyage 
to the Euripus, he was detained by the Etesian winds many days on 
the coast of Attica, and was enabled to take during that time an 
accurate examination of the mining district. The result of this 
mineralogical survey was, the discovery of many of the veins of 
argentiferous lead ore *, with which that part of the country seems to 
abound ; he observed the traces of the silver-mines not far beyond 
Keratia. In a paper belonging to the late Mr. Tweddell, relating to 
Attica, we find mention made of " Les Atteliers des Mines f;" by these 
Mr. Hawkins says, the site of the smelting-furnaces is indicated, 



* Mr. H. collected specimens of all the substances occurring in those veins : among 
which was a green stone pronounced by Werner to be chrysoprase. 

f Mr. Hawkins mentions a remarkable allusion to the mines, still preserved in a name 
given by the sailors in his boat to one of the harbours on the North-Eastern coast of 
Attica, South of Thorico, ?ij roc l^yao-njpa. 



432 



MONEY OF ATTICA. 



which may be traced to the southward of Thorico for some miles ; 
immense quantities of scoriae occurring there. The mines were situ- 
ated much higher along the central ridge of hills * ; the smelting 
operations were probably carried on near the sea-coast for the conve- 
nience of fuel, which it soon became necessary to import. 

We have little information handed down to us respecting the mines 
of Attica, from the time when the Romans became masters of 
Greece. An insurrection, in the year 135 B. C, of the slaves who were 
employed in them, shews us that they were then worked (Diod. S. 
Exc. lib. xxiv. t. 2. 528.); but the revenue they gave must have been 
an object of small consideration to the Romans at this period, as 
their different conquests supplied them with abundance of wealth. 
In the year of the city 662, sixty millions of our money were counted 
in their treasury. (Ferguson, ii. 121.) Large contributions were 
received from Macedonia, when that country became subject to their 
arms ; the conquest of it, says Polybius, brought wealth and corrup- 
tion to Rome ; and the fixed and regular tribute, which the Asiatic 
provinces offered to pay in the time of Julius Caesar, was 4,100,000/. 
(Gibbon, 427. Des poids, et des monnoies des anciens.) 

In the reign of Augustus the mines of Laurium were neglected 
(Strabo, lib. ix.), nor does it appear that any silver was collected there 
at the time when Pausanias and Plutarch wrote. (Attica, i. De Orac. 
Defectu.) 

Respecting the interior management of them in the early period of 
the Athenian republic, we are able to collect only a few materials 
from their writers. If the treatise of Theophrastus or Aristotle had 
been extant (Pollux, x. 149.), as well as the comedy of Pherecrates, 
entitled MtraXXstg, we might have received many curious details. 
The use of our common bellows ((pv<rcu) was known to the Greeks ; 



* According to a scholiast on iEschylus, (see Casaubon in Strabo, 380. Ox. ed.) there 
was silver near Thoricus. Phavorinus incorrectly states that there were gold mines at 
Laurium. "Wheler passed over a tract where cinders in abundance lay scattered up and 
down ; some silver, he heard, had been secretly extracted from the ore found there. — 
See also Hobhouse's Travels, 4 1 7. 420. 



MONEY OF ATTICA. 



433 



we find mention of the <ra.\a.y'f (Pollux, lib. x. 149. lib. vii. 99.), a sort 
of sieve ; of the 7r^io^og, and the pecrcxgivsTg aioveg, or pillars supporting 
the roof at certain intervals; the xcEjttn/o? was a metallurgic furnace, 
on which a crucible was placed for melting and refining metals. 
(Beckmann, H. of I. ii. 77.) Little progress in improvement of ma- 
chinery was likely to be made, as long as slaves were easily procured ; 
and before the hydraulic engine invented by Archimedes * was 
in use, the water in the pits could only have been drawn off with 
great labour. If the remarks of Agatharides, and Diodorus S. are 
applicable to the general mining system of the Greeks, we may learn 
from them some of the various operations which were used, as the 
softening the rock by the application of fire ; the pounding the ore in 
stone mortars f ; the grinding it in hand-mills, and afterwards wash- 
ing it, and the process of cupellation. 

Although the fact of a coinage of money at Athens by Theseus be 
extremely improbable, yet it is remarkable that the antient writers 
are all agreed on this point. " Hoc tarn dare tamque perspicue (says 
one of the most acute and judicious scholars of modern times) a vete- 
ribus Uteris est traditum, ut si quis contra sentiat, nihil sentire videri 
possit." (Hemsterh. ad Polluc. lib. x. sect. 60.) Sperling attributes 
the first coinage in Athens to Solon. When, however, we find, that 
Phidon^l, three centuries before the time of that legislator, introduced 



* Ko^x/ajj ov; 'Afxtprfa; supsv. Diod. Sic. v. 360. The earliest mention we find of 
water-mills is of the time of Mithridates; ulpcLkk^ is the word in Strabo, Ox. ed. in 
1. xii. 804. Pumps were invented by Ctesibius, who lived at Alexandria in the second 
century, B. C. — Vitruv, 1. x. c. 12. 1. ix. c. 4. 

f 'Ev oXfjMt; Aiflivoi; — npoc ttjv xwTnjv «Ar,0ou<7JV. 1. in. 183. Remains of ancient mortars 
and mills have been found in Transylvania and in the Pyrenees. Some of the smelting 
operations of the Greeks are mentioned by Hippoc. de Vic. rat. 1. i. xpvo-lov hfyatyvrcu, 
x.o7ttov<ti, TtXvvo-Jvi, TYjxova-i irvpl. The time when quicksilver was first used in separating 
gold and silver from earthy particles is not known ; but Vitruvius and Pliny give us a 
description of the manner in which gold is cleansed in cast off garments by means of 
quicksilver; this sufficiently proves that nothing more was wanting than the application 
of the same process to the separation of the ores in the smelting works. 

X Herodotus, 1. i. says that the Lydians first struck gold and silver coins; but we 
find Moses, 1000 years prior to Herodotus, speaking of silver money: and 400 years 

3 K 



434 



MONEY OF ATTICA. 



it in the Peloponnesus, it is not likely that the Athenians should have 
been so long unacquainted with the art. It is impossible to reconcile 
the opinion of Sperling with the words of Pollux ; the former says 
that the Bovg of Theseus must be placed inter nummos non cusos ; it 
is to be considered, he says, not as money with the device of an ox 
upon it, though Pollux expressly says, @ovv e*%ei/ evTerwufjiBvov. The 
[3ovg was, in the opinion of Sperling, a piece of money which was 
equal in value to an ox ; and h&ct&fow was as much as would purchase 
ten oxen. If this interpretation be true, it is singular, as Hemsterhusius 
observes, that we should find no mention of an fie, oig, poa-xcc, pieces 
of money that would purchase swine, sheep, and heifers. Theseus is 
said by the Greeks y.ottthv vcp«rptx 9 words which have only one 
meaning, " striking or coining money ;" certe vel sexcentis adferri 
possit locis KOTTTnv v. non aliter quam de signaturd nummorum intelligi 
posse. Hem st. But Sperling affixes entirely a new sense to it ; de 
argenti sectione sumit. * Theseus, he says, docuit Athenienses durum 
et argentum, et ces eo pondere x&rmi quo bovem emere possint, talemque 
nummum Qovg dictum, licet bovem signatum minime habuerit. He gives 
a similar wrong interpretation to the word xoitth. in Herodotus, 1. i, 
94. Without attempting to explain the reason that could induce the 
ancients to attribute the introduction of coinage into Athens to The- 
seus, when we find that in the time of Homer, subsequently to the 
age of that hero, all commerce consisted merely in exchanging dif- 
ferent articles, we may fix upon the tenth century B. C. as the pe- 
riod when the Greeks of Asia Minor first became acquainted with the 
use of coined money. -\ 



before his time, his ancestor in the seventh generation purchased a field for silver. There 
is no contradiction in these statements; that of Herodotus alludes to metals formed into 
coins or minted ; but the Hebrew money, at the period alluded to, consisted of silver 
pieces marked. — Sec Michaelis on the Laws of Moses, i. 437- 

* We may observe that although Pollux assigns so early a date to the coinage of 
Athens, he condemns those who interpret Homer II. q. 236, as if the poet alluded 
to money in that verse. Homerus permutationem certe antiquitus factam non nummo 
autumat, sed in retributione quarundum rerum quas vicissim dabaut. Note 58. p. 1044. 
Polluc. 

|- Knight's Prolcg. 



MONEY OF ATTICA. 



435 



The nummulary expressions in the Greek language have a re- 
ference to that period of their history, when the metals were 
weighed* in exchange, and not struck ; thus we meet with 
o@o\o<rTctT7is, x/Tpa, toIxclvtov, o-TctTrifi. "f Many centuries must have 
elapsed between the first introduction of money in Greece, and 
the period when the coins of some of her states received that spirit 
and form in the design and execution of them, by which they are 
distinguished. The alterations in the century and half which followed 
the age of Phidon were numerous, and some of them may be plainly 
traced by observing different series of coins. " Seven stages of 
progressive improvement or variation may be seen in the coins of 
Thebes, prior to the subversion of the city by Alexander the J Great." 
It is singular, that while the names of the Greek artists who were 
distinguished as statuaries or vase-manufacturers, or as engravers on 
gems and stones, are frequently recorded on their works, the names 
of those who were employed in the mints or ctpyvpok:o7ret'cc of the 
different republics, and in improving the dies of the money, should 
be so little known. § It has been supposed that they are sometimes 
included in the monograms. The giving an impression or type to 
the coins, signifying the value of them, and thus avoiding the necessity 
of frequently using the scale, was a change of great importance ; S 
^apajcTijp Its8y, says Aristotle, (Pol. 1. i. c. 9.) rou 7To<rou crvj^iTov. Another 
alteration, of equal consequence, was the use of the pound in tale, as 
well as the pound in weight ; this is attributed to Solon, who raised 
the mina or pound, as we learn from Plutarch, (in Solone,) from 
72 drachmas to 100 |j ; an hundred drachmas were given in payment 



* The word penny and the Hebrew shekel have the same reference to weight. — Clarke 
on Coins, 391. 

f'la-Txvca signifies appendere, Aristoph. Pac. 717., and in the LXX. Jerem. xxxii. 9., 
we read e<mjo"a (TtxXov;. 

$ See Mr. Knight's remarks on the Elean tablet. Classical Journal, vol. xiii. p. 118. 

§ In Crete, the coins of Cydonia bear the legend Neuavroj IWoej. — Some of the 
characters on the coins of Attica probably refer to the different mints established in that 
counti-y. The people of Marathon and Anaphlystus both struck money. Corsini. F. A. 
xii. 232. 

]| 'Exarov yap s7ron)<re §p a^fiaiv t>jv ftvav irporepov sffiofiyKovTct xcti Tpicov ovcrav, probably effidfi. 
gy'o. — See Clarke on Coins, 94. 

3 k 2 



436 



MONEY OF ATTICA. 



instead of having recourse to the scale. This was done to make 
allowance for any diminution in the weight or fineness of the money, 
and greatly facilitated the transaction of commercial business. 

The silver-money of Attica was of seven kinds ; the tetradrachm, 
didrachm, tetrobolus, triobolus, diobolus, obolus, and j semiobolus. 
The talent and mina of the Attics were merely nominal, j. The 
obolus has been found at Athens in the excavations of ancient tombs, 
not only in the mouth of the dead, but also in urns. A miscon- 
struction of a passage in the Frogs of Aristophanes, has led D'Han- 
carville (2. 33.) to suppose that two oboli were sometimes given to the 
dead ; but the poet, when he mentions that sum, vv. 140, 270, is 
ridiculing the Sikohttikov p«r(lov, as some of the Scholiasts have re- 
marked. § It is singular that the custom of depositing money with 
the dead, should have continued at Athens to so late a time as the 
age of the Scholiast on Juvenal (Sat. 3. 267.) ; a practice of a similar 
kind is observed to prevail among some Tartar nations. 

The Attic tetradrachms examined by Greaves weighed 268 grains 
English, or each drachm, 67 grains. || We may assign 273 grains, 
272, and 271, as the weight of the coins in the time of Pericles ; at a 
later period, when the Greeks became subject to the Romans, and still 
retained permission to coin % their own money, the drachma was made 
lighter, and was then equal only to 54*75 grains, or an eighth part of 
an ounce. The sense of the passages of some of the Greek writers, 
when they speak of their money, has not been always correctly ex- 



* After Solon's time, 84 drachmae were struck out of the pound, which was still 
reckoned at 100 drachmas. The pound in tale was in use also among the Romans. — 
See Clarke on Coins, 724. 

f In the Heraclean tablet we find mention of No^oi, v. 75, written in later times vou/a^oi. 
The ancient word occurs also in Epichar. 8ex« vofx-aov. —See Valck. Theoc. p. 308. 

t Taylor ad. Mar. Sand. 

§ Hem. Polluc. i. 422. 

|| Mr. Knight says, 65 grains. Prol. in Horn. sec. 56. Of 120 tetradrachms weighed 
by Barthelemy, the heaviest gave 263' grains English. 

% For the time of the Peloponnesian war, we may set the drachma at ten-pence 
sterling; the mina of that age will be 4l. 3s. 4d. ; and the talent, 2501. At a later 
period, the drachma may be considered as worth 8d. sterling, or equal to the Roman 
denarius. See Mitford's advertisement to the 2d vol. of the H. of Greece, 4to. 



MONEY OF ATTICA. 



437 



plained by commentators and translators. Thus in Lysias, the 
words cxpiiXuv dyyvpiov Itt\ Tp«r* fyotxpalig, do not mean, as Dalecampius 
and the French version render them, " owing three drachmae of 
silver j" but they are equivalent to this expression, " he owed three 
per cent, interest every month* ;" the sentence, when complete, being 
tou (iqvoQ riig pvaz. In the same writer, we find, citron Se <roi ewe oftoXoug 
rvig pvuc tokovc. " I will pay you one and a half per cent, every 
month." f 

The Attic tetradrachms X ai *e of two kinds ; the first, or more 
ancient, is of the rudest description, being of a globular form ; the 
head of Minerva is covered with an ancient helmet ; or sometimes 
there is only a radiated diadem. The face of the goddess is distin- 
guished by the most striking deformity ; a long neck and pointed 
chin, with an eye like that of a fish, are among the most remarkable 
features. The second or more modern is less rude, is much thinner, 
and the surface more extended ; the helmet of the goddess is highly 
ornamented ; the face is more graceful ; and altogether it is exe- 
cuted in a much better style of work than the former ; at the same 



* The common interest at Athens was one per cent, per month, 
t See Schweig. in A then. lib. xiii. c. 94. 

X The representation of a vase is very frequently seen upon the medals of Athens, either 
as the principal subject, or as what the French call a contremarque : on the latter 
tetradrachms, the owl is invariably represented as standing upon a vase reversed. The 
explanation of this is doubtful: Corsini and others have supposed that it refers to the 
perfection which the Athenians had attained in the art of fabricating earthenware. But I 
am inclined to think with Eckhel, that as the vase upon the medals of Corcyra, Thasos, 
and Chios, denoted the abundant produce of wine in those islands ; so upon the later 
tetradrachms of Athens, it had a reference to the quantity of oil, the staple commodity, as 
it were of Attica. I am the more strengthened in this opinion, as I possess vases of pre- 
cisely a similar form, found in the neighbourhood of Athens, where they are far from 
rare. From their frequency and perfect resemblance one to another, it is probable that 
they were designed for some one particular use, and not formed according to the fancy of 
the potter; nor is it. probable that a vase of such an ungraceful shape and rude workman- 
ship (as all of the kind which I have seen are), should be placed upon their medals in 
order to show the perfection of the Athenians in the art. 

But although this supposition will account for the representation of the vase on the 
tetradrachms, yet the prodigious variety which we meet with upon the other medals will 
still remain unexplained. Perhaps some were really meant to commemorate the preten- 
sions of the Athenians with respect to the art. — (Extract from Lord Aberdeen's Journals.) 



438 



MONEY OF ATTICA. 



time, it bears the most evident marks of neglect and bad taste. 
The variations to be met with in the tetradrachm of each of these 
divisions are numberless ; but they are so very slight, and the agree- 
ment of the general characteristics of each so universal, that they 
are by no means sufficient to constitute any other class than the 
two already described ; to one of which indeed they are all easily 
reducible. These observations are equally applicable to the di- 
drachm and drachm, and may be extended to nearly the whole silver 
coinage of Athens. It is not improbable that the head on the older 
tetradrachms was copied from that most ancient and most holy statue 
of the goddess preserved in the double temple of Neptune and 
Minerva ; it was formed of olive-wood, and was said to have fallen 
from Heaven in the reign of Ericthonius. It is clear, however, that 
the superior beauty of the Minerva of Phidias proved more attractive 
than the age and sanctity of the wooden image ; for on all the 
later tetradrachms we find precisely the same figures which adorned 
the head of that magnificent statue ; although even in the more 
recent coinage, instances frequently occur, where the inscription in 
ancient characters is still preserved. 

One of the greatest problems in numismatical difficulties, is the 
cause of the manifest neglect, both in design and execution, which is 
invariably to be met with in the silver money of Athens ; in which the 
affectation of an archaic style of work is easily distinguished from the 
rudeness of remote antiquity. Different attempts have been made to 
elucidate the subject ; De Pauw affirms, that owing to a wise economy, 
the magistrates whose office it was to superintend the coinage of 
silver, employed none but inferior artists in making the design, as 
well as in other branches of the process ; an hypothesis wholly 
inconsistent with the characteristic magnificence of the republic. 
Pinkerton asserts, that it can only be accounted for, from the ex- 
cellence of the artists being such, as to occasion all the good to 
be called into other countries, and none but the bad left at home. 
It would be somewhat difficult to explain, how Athens came to be 
so long honoured both by the presence and the works of Phidias 
and Praxiteles, Zeuxis and Apelles. 



MONEY OF ATTICA. 



489 



The Attic silver was of acknowledged purity, and circulated very 
extensively ; the Athenian merchants, particularly in their com- 
mercial dealings with the more distant and barbarous nations, appear 
frequently to have made their payments in it. The barbarians being 
once impressed with these notions of its purity, the government of 
Athens in all probability was afraid materially to change that style 
and appearance, by which their money was known and valued among 
these people. A similar proceeding in the state of Venice throws 
the strongest light on the practice of the Athenians. The Venetian 
sechin is perhaps the most unseemly of the coins of modern Europe ; 
it has long been however the current gold of the Turkish empire, in 
which its purity is universally and justly esteemed ; any change in 
its appearance on the part of the Venetian government would have 
tended to create distrust. 

Xenophon says, that the silver of Attica in foreign countries was 
more valuable than the coin of other nations, because it was finer, and 
consequently was worth more than its own weight of any other silver, 
that had more alloy in it. (Davenant. See also the treatise, no'pw.) 
And Zeno (Diog. L. in v.) in his allusion to the rudeness of the Attic 
tetradrachms, praises them at the same time, as superior in purity of 
metal to other coins, which were more beautiful in form and design : — 

k,(pa<rxs os Tovg [A.tv tw acroXoixuv Xoyoug xai cnrr,pTi(rfJuevovq opoioug avtxk tu : 
dpyvplco ru AXt^avfioivu' evocp&aXfcovg plv xal 7repiy£y^ajy^svovg 9 xaQa xal to 
vopi(T[/,ct i ov$&v <Je tuvtu (2sXTi6vag' rovg de rovvavrlov acpu/xolov roig Arrixotg 
TeTpa.fycx.xfj.oig, hxvj plv xexofx^evovg zocl <roXoixovg 9 Ka.QtXx.tiv pevTa TtoXXoixig' 

Tag xixaXXiy^acp^evag x&Psig. " He said, that the polished discourses of 
the learned resembled the Alexandrian money ; they were beautiful 
to look at, and finished all round ; but not the better on that account. 
Those of an opposite class were like the Attic tetradrachms ; there 
was a rude and plain stamp about them ; but they often outweighed 
the discourses of a more ornamented kind." It is evident from the 
nature of the commercial transactions between the Athenians and the 
inhabitants of some of the shores of the Euxine, that a great 
quantity of Attic money must have been given to the latter, in ex- 
change for what the Athenians most wanted ; namely, corn. " No 



440 



MONEY OF ATTICA. 



people," says Demosthenes, "require so much imported corn as we do." 

C. Lept. nXettTTu tuv oc7Tocvtuv ccvG^uttuv eTreta-UKTCt) cItu %pujibsQfti Leucon 

allowed them in the year 358 B.C. to carry from the Cimmerian. 
Bosphorus, (now the Straits of Caffa,) and from Theudosia, 
400,000 medimni of corn. (Vales. Harpoc. 38, and Barbeyrac Anc. 
Traitez, p. 213.) The medimnus or six pecks of wheat cost five dracli4 
mas at Athens in the time of Demosthenes ; now allowing that the 
Athenian ships were laden with some manufactured articles to exchange 
for the corn, as well as with wine, which formed part of their export 
trade, it is certain that great payments must have been made in money. 

The sources of the Athenian revenue were, 1. The contributions 
from allied states ; the sum demanded from them in the time of 
Aristides was 460 talents annually ; Pericles exacted 600 ; Alcibiades 
doubled the original sum (Harpocr. Vales, p. 58.) ; and under Deme- 
trius Phalerius, a further addition was made. (Diog. L. in v.) 
2. Some revenue was also derived from the customs*; we find from 
the Etymologicon, Harpocration, and Andocides, that a duty of 
two per cent, was demanded upon imported and exported goods ; 
this was called UevT^oa-T^ and was hired or farmed by a corporation, 
the head of which was called \Af^v:vis. (Valck. in Sluit. Lec. An. 
159.) 3. We may mention the confiscation of the property of dif- 
ferent individuals ; the produce of sums arising from the sale of the 
marble in the quarries of Hymettus and Pentelicus j ; the money 
deposited by such as had law-suits in court ; that which was paid 
into the treasury by persons who worked the mines, and the capita- 
tion on the MeroiKoi. ^ Some of these different sources of revenue 



* De Myst. The import and export duties were farmed during the Peloponnesian 
war at 36 talents, or 9000/. This was the 50th; if we add the profit of the farmers, we 
may estimate the whole foreign trade of Athens, at more than 400,000/. 

f In what request the marble of Pentelicus was held by the Greeks may be conjectured 
from this circumstance; it was used at Lilaea, Stiris, Panopea, and Delphi, in Phocis ; 
at Olympia for the roof of the great temple and for some statues there ; it was sent into 
Achaia, Arcadia, and Bceotia, and other parts of Greece. — Pausanias. 

% The annual tax on these persons, was 1 2 drachmae for a man, six for a woman. — 
Menage in Diog. Laer. ii. 235. 



MONEY OF ATTICA. 



441 



are very clearly pointed out in a passage of Aristophanes ; and we 
learn from the poet, that at the time when the play of the Vespse was 
performed, or 423 B.C., the revenue of the republic was 2000 talents, 
or 500,000/. sterling. 

Kcci ttqutov ftsv Xoyitrou (pdvXug, f^rj ^(poig, osXX' «Vo %£<^o? 
Toy <po[jov vipl'v a.'no roov ttoXsuv ^vXX^(3^v tov nr^oclovTa.' 
Ku^u toutcv roc TeXy y/u^ig, x.di rag iroXXoiq eitaTocrTtzg, 
Tlgwuvzix, f/iTu\x\ (xyogdc, Xtpevxg, {Aitrdoug kxi 3rjpio7r(>oiT(x. 
Toutoov 7rX"^u^a rotXavr eyyvg Stcr^iXia, ylyvsrott ypTv. 

Vespas, 656. 

The revenue in the year mentioned by Aristophanes seems to have 
been unusually great ; for Xenophon, Anab. lib. vii., speaks of 1000 
talents as the income of the republic during the war derived from the 

citizens as well as foreigners. Yl^ocrodGV ovtryjg kut evioiurou aVo r« ruv 
svoyfttov Kcti \y* T'tjg Xjirz^o^loLg ou p&iov ^Xi'cov TocXoivruv. In the time of 

Demosthenes, the sum was much smaller ; the orator, Phil, iv., says 
it amounted to 400 talents. 

The system of financial policy adopted by the Athenians (and 
Greeks in general) led them to amass considerable sums to meet the 
necessary expences of war. " The states of the ancient world," says 
Hume, " prepared for their contests by hoarding as much as they 
could. The mode adopted by modern Europe of anticipating the 
revenues of future generations was unknown to them." Thucydides, 
lib. ii., has communicated to us some particulars respecting the state 
of the Athenian finances at the breaking out of the Peloponnesian 
war. There were 6,000 talents, or 1,500,000/. in the treasury ; a sum 
which had been collected from the contributions of the allies ; the 
uncoined * gold and silver found in the religious offerings belonging 



* Xpuc/ou ajrijMov xdi apyvplov. Thuc. 1. 2. "A<r*jftov in modern Greek is " silver;" it 
is found in this sense in Cedrenus : and in an epigram on a person who had placed at 
table before his guests some empty dishes of silver, " Seek," says the epigrammist, " for 
those who are fasting, if you want to make a display of your silver ; you may excite their 
admiration by your empty dishes." 

Z>jts( vrjJT=uovx«f s; upyupeyv £7r/8ei£j!/, 

K«j tots §o.\)]xu.<tgy, xovcpov oLfrr^av ^x wv ' — Cas. His. A. S. 153. 

3l 



442 



MONEY OF ATTICA. 



to the state and the citizens, and the vessels used in sacred ceremo- 
nies, amounted to 125,000/. The gold on the statue of Minerva, 
which could be taken off, if the public exigencies required it, weighed 
40 talents of pure metal, and was, according to the ancient proportion 
of one to thirteen, worth 130,000/.* A passage in Demosthenes, 
Hep Zvpp., gives the valuation of the property and wealth of the Athe- 
nians at 6,000 talents f; in Polybius, lib. ii., we find the sum stated at 
5,750 talents. Winkelman, as well as Meursius and Leland, consider 
them as speaking of revenue ; but it is contrary to all probability, 
that the Athenian finances should ever have been so flourishing as 
this statement would make them, and the passage I have already 
cited from Xenophon and Aristophanes is a sufficient confutation of 
that opinion. Mr. Wallace J supposes the sum to mean a valuation 
of yearly rents and profits, according to which a tax was to be im- 
posed on the Athenians. Mr. Hume § considers it as including the 
whole value of the republic, and comprehending lands, houses, com- 
modities, and slaves ; but if we calculate the slaves at only 200,000, 
and at two minse each, the lowest value which was put on any of those 
belonging to the father of Demosthenes, the slaves alone were worth 
more money. || Some suppose the words ft^fidt t^s to be a 

valuation of land ; Dr. Gillies applies them to the worth of lands and 
houses. The opinion of Heyne seems to be the most satisfactory, 
and to agree with the words of Polybius ; it was, he says, an estimate, 
perhaps below the real value of the general property of Attica and 
Athens ; and that on occasions, when an armament was to be equip- 
ped, or any contribution was required, a tax was laid on the different 
districts of Attica according to this estimate. 

So long as the Athenians retained their command at sea, they 



* For 40 talents of gold multiplied by 13, give 520 talents of silver, or 130,C00Z. 
Barthelerny supposes that in the time of Thucydides, as of Herodotus, this was the 
proportion. 

f To t/ju.t;|x« ecttj to tvjj X^P 01 ^ ^awiayiA/aii' t«A«vt«;v. 

\ Numbers of Mankind, 289. § Essay V. 

]| In Aphob. 1. — See Wallace, p. 189. 



MONEY OF ATTICA. 



443 



could easily collect the tribute due to them, and protect their trade. 
In the commencement of the Peloponnesian war, they derived from 
their naval superiority a great advantage in this respect ; while they 
obtained money from the islands and Ionia *, the Spartans borrowed 
it on interest from the sacred funds of Delphi or Olympia. f The 
result of the unfortunate expedition to Sicily is well known, and the 
encampment of the Lacedaemonians at Decelea, added to the distress 
and difficulties in which the Athenians were then placed. The 
supplies of provisions that were usually conveyed by land from 
Eubcea to Athens were cut off, and were therefore sent by sea. The 
works in the mines could not be carried on with their usual regularity, 
as the slaves deserted in great numbers to the camp of the enemy. 
Thucyd. 1. 7. The poverty X of the republic increased ; and in the 
twentieth year of the war, the Athenians were obliged to spend the 
thousand talents §, which they had hitherto scrupulously abstained from 
touching ; and in four years afterwards the gold coin was debased. 

This metal was procured by them from Macedonia and Asia 
Minor. The gold mines in the vicinity of the Strymon were ex- 
plored first by the Phoenicians || ; we have little information, however, 
concerning the wealth or produce of them before the time of Alex- 
ander the First, who received about the year 480 B. C. the daily 
income of a talent from them. The revenue derived from these 
mines continued to be small **, until the reign of Philip the father of 



* TlpoaaSov ^zyltj-rriv. — Thucy. L iii. 

f See the speeches of the Corinthians, and of Pericles. — Thucyd. 1. i. 

i Thucydides informs us. that about this time they adopted a plan from which they 
hoped to derive an increase of revenue, i. ". Instead of exacting the usual tribute from 
those who were in dependence on them, they levied a duty of one-twentieth of the value, 
t»v xutx. bk\ce.7<raM or five per cent. ; Ttjv siy.o(TTr l v rxv xarx &x/>a.<T<Totv xvr) tov <£opov tojj 
{rzYiXMi: zTrotr^ccv. As the Greek words mean literally, "goods carried by sea," we may 
apply them both to exports and imports. 

§ Called "A/Svs-crov, Lysis. 1 J4. — See also Plato in Menon. 

|| Clem. Alex. Stro. 1. i. 363. 

•f Mem. de l'Ac. des In. 4/. Some of the Macedonian coins may belong to the sixth 
century B. C. Knight, Pro], in Horn. sec. 78. 
#% Diod. S. L xvi. 

3 l 2 



444 



MONEY OF ATTICA. 



Alexander, when it amounted to 1000 talents annually. The district 
on both sides of the Strymon, and on Mount Pangeus furnished him 
with gold and silver ; the former was found near Philippi. The 
astonishing quantity of his coin which still remains, where we even 
without the evidence of ancient writers, would sufficiently attest the 
former abundance of it ; in some of the more unfrequented parts of 
Greece the gold of Philip passes currently among the inhabitants 
at present. The value of one of these coins is 20 Turkish piastres, 
or about 25 shillings. * 

In addition to the sums which the mines of Philip brought into 
circulation, we may state that Alexander, during his progress j? through 
Asia, sent into Greece a large quantity of money for the purpose of 
erecting temples and public buildings ; and when we consider how 
much a few years before had been taken from the consecrated wealth 
at Delphi in the Phocic war, how many statues and vases and orna- 
ments of gold had been melted into specie, we may fix upon this 
time, as the period when money must have abounded in ^ Greece. 
The increase in the prices of corn and meat at different successive 
intervals, may be stated from some authentic documents, and will 
show the diminution in the value of money : — 

Wheat in 595 B. C. was 1 Drachma the Medimnus, or 6" pecks. § 
in 440 2 Dr. or 4s. Gd. the coomb. || 



* Many of the ancient coins found in Greece and Asia Minor are pierced, and through 
the hole a string is passed, by which they are hung, as ornaments, round the heads of 
women and young girls. This custom is not peculiar to the modern inhabitants of these 
countries; we find it mentioned by Chrysostom, who particularly refers to the coins of 
Alexander, torn. ii. 243. Ven. Ti ay t*j eWot irsol tcZv yoju.(Vju.aTa ya.hY.ct. AXifcavfipov toZ 
MaxeSo'yoj ra»j xepaXai; y.o\ to7j -kq<j\ ■nep&svfj.ovvTwv. — Ed. 

f Plutarch, Opp. Mor. " Virtue of Alexander." 

% The dresses and robes of some of the statues of the ancient deities were of gold threads, 
woven or knitted; such was the aurcum amiculum of Jove, which Dionysius stole. (Cic. 
de.N.D. 111. Bcckmann, 2.) In consequence of the robbery of the temples, which happened 
not unfrequently in the wars of Greece, many might say, as the veteran remarked to 
Augustus, " You see my fortune, Emperor; it was once the leg of a goddess." 

§ Mem. de l'Ac. des. In. 48. 394. 

|| " The ancient markets," says Sir J. Steuart, " were supplied partly from the surplus 
produce upon the lands of the great men, laboured by slaves, who, being fed from the 



MONEY OF ATTICA. 



44£ 



Wheat in 393 B. C. was 3 Dr. the coomb. 

in 335 5 Dr. Ditto. 

An ox in 410 B. C. was 51 Dr. or 21. 2s. (id. 

in 374 80 Dr. 

in the same year 75 Dr. (Sand Mar.)* 

It has been much doubted whether the Athenians at any period of 
their history ever coined money of gold ; and when we consider the 
few original examples of this metal which have come down to us, in 
proportion to those evidently forged, it is not surprising that many 
should have been led to suppose the whole number spurious. At the 
same time it appears to admit of satisfactory proof, both from the tes- 
timonies of ancient authors, and from the gold coins which still 
remain, of the genuineness of which we can entertain no doubt, that 
the Athenians occasionally made use of this metal in their coinage, 
although it is very probable, only on few occasions, perhaps after some 
victory or other great event, and even then in small quantities. 

Eckhel ■]-, who has entered pretty much at large into this subject, 
labours to establish a different conclusion. He rejects that passage in 
the Frogs of Aristophanes |, which mentions anew coinage as ironical, 
and not to be taken in its literal sense ; and at the same time adduces 
another from the same writer in support of his own opinion : 



lands, the surplus cost in a manner nothing to the proprietors ; and as the numbers of 
those who had occasion to buy were very few, the surplus was sold cheap." Pol. Econ. i. 
404. This remark, though generally true, is not properly applicable to Athens; we have 
seen by a passage of Demosthenes already cited, that the quantity of corn imported by 
the Athenians was very great ; the number therefore of those who had to buy was not 
small. From particular circumstances, indeed, the price of corn may have been some- 
times cheap; for instance, the ships which brought it from the Euxine to Athens, were 
allowed by Leucon to export it without paying any duty; utsXsixv 8=§coxe'v«i, Dem. c. Lept. 
This was a great advantage to the Athenians ; as the sum paid to Leucon by those who 
carried corn from his dominions was thirty per cent. There was also a law, which, in 
order to prevent corn rising above its ordinary price, prohibited, under pain of death, 
any citizen from buying more than a certain quantity. Lysias. 

* Mem. de l'Ac. des In. 48. 356. 

f Doc. Num. Vet. t. ii. 286. 

% V. 7-0. Yet Corsini considers the passage as clearly pointing out the use of gold 
coin. The comedy was acted in Olym. 93. 3., and the scholiast says, that gold money was 
introduced the year before. — See Corsini Diss. xii. 



446 MONEY OF ATTICA. 

XaXjcouv to Xonrov' a^yv^u ya^ y/gdfJtsQcc. 

Ekk. 821. 

Pollux seems to doubt whether xotkv.oZv is here to be considered as 
money or not ; but allowing that Aristophanes is really speaking of 
silver, it is by no means a consequence from this supposition that gold 
was unknown. A little attention to the true meaning and spirit of 
the passage will explain this. 

He is alluding to the decree respecting the use of copper * money, 
against which, in common with a large proportion of the Athenians, 
he entertained a decided aversion ; and he adds, " it was proclaimed 
that no one should receive it, for we use silver." The mention of 
gold coin was here perfectly unnecessary, for such was the dispro- 
portion in Attica between silver and any other species of money, 
that it might with propriety be called the circulating medium of the 
republic ; in like manner, a person might say that in England paper 
notes had supplied the place of specie, but this would be merely in 
allusion to their great abundance, without meaning to assert that the 
use of the latter was unknown among us. There is also another 
reason which induced Aristophanes to oppose silver to the copper 
money, which is, that, by coining pieces of less dimension, they 
might be so reduced in value as not to exceed that of copper, and 
consequently render the use of the latter unnecessary. Accordingly 
in the silver money of the Athenians, we find some coins of incredi- 
ble minuteness ; several of which do not weigh more than two grains, 
nor were more than a farthing in value. It was obviously for these 
reasons that Aristophanes confined himself to the mention of silver in 
opposition to the latter. 

The testimony of Pollux f is clear and decisive as to the existence 



* The copper money, which was cried down this year, Olym. 96. 4., had been in circu- 
lation for nine years, for it was coined in Olym. 93. 3., as we learn from the scholiast on the 
Ranae, v. 732. We find also that some copper money was in use in the time of Dionysius, 
in Olym. 84. 4. — See Corsini, F. A. Diss. xii. 

f Pollux, ix. c. 6. Schol. in Equ. 1093. Another passage of similar import may be 
seen in the Schol. on Aves, 1 106. 



MONEY OF ATTICA. 



447 



of Athenian gold coin ; he describes the weight and value of the 
golden Attic stater. The scholiast on the Knights of Aristophanes, 
although mistaken as to the place whence the Athenians procured the 
metal, plainly refers to a coinage from gold. 

Notwithstanding there appears to be no reasonable cause for 
doubting the mere fact of a coinage, yet the quantity of the material 
applied to this purpose in every sera of the republic was so incon- 
siderable, as to render the singularity of the practice scarcely less 
striking, and equally requiring some explanation. De Pauw attempts 
to elucidate the difficulty in this manner.* 

Herodotus, lib. hi., in enumerating the tributes paid to Darius, 
makes the relative value of gold to silver as one to thirteen, and 
Plato in the dialogue entitled Hipparchus, as one to twelve. Now 
the Athenians, having to purchase their gold in Lydia, would evi- 
dently be losers in every such bargain ; an Athenian merchant wish- 
ing to buy fifty pounds weight of gold at Sardes, would necessarily 
pay for every pound so bought one pound of silver, in addition to the 
price borne by the same article in his own country ; and consequently 
could not be repaid without altering materially the nature of the 
gold. 

We must here observe, that Herodotus is speaking of the relative 
value of gold to silver in the sixty-seventh olympiad, after the con- 
quest of Babylon by Darius, and before his invasion of Greece, from 
which period to the birth of Plato in the eighty-seventh olympiad, 
there is an interval of eighty years. We cannot suppose that the 
value of gold at Athens should have been stationary during so long a 
time ; nor is it credible that the circulation given to the immense 
quantity of this metal acquired by the plunder of the Persians, 
should not have operated the smallest change. Of this we may rest 
assured, that gold, of which there was so little in Greece before the 
Persian invasion, must necessarily have fallen very considerably in 
value after that event, and have suffered a diminution from the time 



* Recherches, t. i. 366. 



448 



MONEY OF ATTICA. 



in which Herodotus wrote to the age of Plato, when we find it as 
one to twelve. 

According to the testimony of Xenophon the ratio in his time 
was that of ten to one.* A great alteration, as we are informed by 
Athenaeus, had taken place in consequence of the plunder of the 
temple of Apollo at Delphi, in 358, and a prodigious quantity of 
offerings was then turned into specie. The decuple proportion 
seems to have continued a long time unchanged. -j- Menander, who 
lived a century after Xenophon, states the value of the two metals to 
be in that ratio. (Pollux, lib. ix. c. 76.) And the ^Etolian league, a 
century later, proves the same thing. £ 

But there is another reason, in addition to the fluctuating price of 
gold, which renders De Pauw's explanation of this subject inadequate. 
For supposing that in Lydia the Athenians would have purchased 
gold at a disadvantage, we are by no means to conclude that they 
were necessarily obliged § to repair to that market ; on the contrary, 
the gold mines of Thasos and of Thrace in the neighbourhood of 
their own colonies were always ready, and to a certain degree able to 
afford them supplies. Besides, if this disadvantage in the purchase 



* Mem. de l'Ac. des In. xlvii. 202. 

f There is an error in the text of the third volume of Gibbon's Misc. Works, p. 420., 
which should be corrected. He there says that the proportion of gold to silver in England 
and Spain, is as one to fifteen : in France and the rest of Europe as one to fourteen and 
a half. " Parmi les anciens la proportion la plus commune etoit celle (Van a un." It 
should evidently be " d'un a dix." Perhaps in Mr. G.'s manuscript it is written " 1 a 10;" 
and the cypher, being erased, the proportion appeared to be 1 a 1. — E. The difference 
in the proportions between the two metals in the ancient and modern world arises from 
the greater quantity of gold possessed by the former. See Mr. Gibbon's examination of 
this subject, p. 422. 

\ See Clarke on Coins, 251. 

§ In addition to what is said in the text, we may observe this fallacy in De Pauw's 
reasoning : he considers Herodotus, when speaking of the exchange of thirteen to one, as 
alluding to Asia ; but there is no proof that the ratio of the two metals in that country 
was referred to by the historian; his observations may apply to Greece. — See Larcher, 
Her. i. 269. and Barthelemy (Anach.) c. 12. note, and see 22. note. 



MONEY OF ATTICA. 



449 



of gold existed at all, it must equally have operated against their 
procuring the metal for any purpose whatever ; whereas, this was so 
little consonant to their practice, that we cannot estimate at less than 
an hundred thousand pounds, the value of the gold which composed 
the ornaments of a single statue. There must then have existed 
some cause other than the difficulty or disadvantage in procuring the 
metal which influenced the Athenians in their determination of so 
rarely coining money from gold. 

Perhaps we may look for the cause of this practice in the mode 
adopted of managing the silver mines of Laurium. Every citizen of 
Athens wishing to become a proprietor in the mines belonging to 
the republic, first purchased from the state a permission to commence 
his operations, and ever after paid the 24th part* of the annual 
produce of his labour into the public treasury. Hence it was mani- 
festly the interest of the government, that nothing should impede 
the progress and vigour of those employed in this pursuit -f*; and 
Xenophon, who wrote at length on the means of improving the 
administration and produce of the silver mines, recommended the 
number of permissions to be very much increased J, and approves of 
the conduct of the state in allowing foreigners, denizens of Athens, 
to enjoy in this respect the same privileges with their own citizens. 

The currency of the silver money of Athens was almost universal, 
owing to the deservedly high reputation for purity which it possessed; 



* Meurs. Them. Att. ii. c. 26. — Suidas, 'Ayp . peTixWov 8/xij. 

f We find from Demosthenes (in Phaenipp.) that income arising from the mines was 
not considered as property, which obliged a citizen to contribute to the expenses of the 
state. Some fortunes derived from this source were considerable ; Nicias let out to an 
adventurer in the mines 1000 slaves; for whom he received 1000 oboli a day, or 166 
drachmae, nearly jl. — E. 

% " Xenophon's work on the improvement of the revenues of the state is a chef-d'ceuvre 
of its kind, and from it more light is to be had in relation to the political economy of the 
Greeks, than from any thing I have seen ancient or modern. Steuart's Political Econ. i. 
460. — The object which Xenophon had in view in that work, is pointed out by Casaubon : 
" Librum ab eo hoc potissimum consilio scriptum esse, ut Athenienses ad fodiendas strenue 
argenti fodinas hortaretur." Stanley ad Persas, 236. v. — E. 

3 M 



450 



MONEY OF ATTICA. 



and on this account we find several cities of* Crete copying precisely 
in their coins the design, weight, and execution of the Attic tetra- 
drachms, in order to facilitate their intercourse with the barbarians. 
It is possible that the general use and estimation of the produce of 
the Attic mines contributed to render the Athenians averse from a 
coinage of another metal, which, by supplying the place of silver money 
at home, might in some degree tend to lessen its reputation abroad. 

Having attempted to explain the circumstance which occasioned 
the scarcity of Athenian gold, it now remains to specify the nature 
of those coins which really did exist in that metal, or passed current 
at Athens, f 

The Attic stater J, according to Pollux, was equal in weight to two 
drachmae, but in value to twenty. This would agree with the re- 
lative proportion of gold to silver in the later times of the republic. 
The following citation from the same writer has occasioned some to 
imagine, that no other gold coin existed: h i*Xv ^v<rovgh'7roig i 7r^oirv'7roiKou£Tui 
6 o-toct^. We are by no means justified in concluding from this remark, 
that because the stater by way of pre-eminence acquired the name of 
the golden attic, no other coin of this metal was in use. In the silver 
money we find that drachmae, by which the Athenians usually 
reckoned, were frequently called, simply, attics ; yet no one for an 
instant would suppose that because the characteristic appellation is 
omitted, they did not possess silver coins of various descriptions. 
Indeed, if we consider the observation fairly, it would appear to indi- 
cate the existence of some other species of gold money, which 
rendered it necessary for the author in some measure to explain this 
peculiar mode of expression. A coin of this metal was found in the 



* Eckhel. in num. Gortyn. Hieropyt. Cydon. 

t The reader may perhaps be inclined to agree with the Editor, in considering the 
remarks of the Earl of Aberdeen, respecting the rude coinage of silver money at Athens, 
and the scarcity of gold money among the Athenians, as affording a more satisfactory 
explanation of those subjects, than any which has been hitherto offered. 

% There is a stater, undoubtedly genuine, in Lord Elgin's possession ; there is one also 
in the Hunter collection; it weighs 134 grains English. 



MONEY OF ATTICA. 



451 



immediate vicinity of Athens, attended by such circumstances, as 
to leave no room to entertain any reasonable doubt of its being 
genuine. * 

The stater of Cyzicum was current at Athens, but we do not 
know what the value of it was ; at the Bosphorus it was worth 28 
Attic drachmas. (Demosth. adv. Phorm.) A stater of Cyzicum is en- 
graved in the Thes. Brand. Beger. part. i. 490. 

The golden staters of Phocasa are mentioned in one of the Athenian 
inscriptions published by Chandler, Part. ii. Ins. iv. 1. 

Of the Macedonian money, we find, that the golden staters of 
Philip and Alexander, called <pi\nnre>o. and AXe|ai/^g«o<, (Pollux. 9. 
1024.) weighed 134, 132, and 131 grains. The Slx^oc, or 
TSTQccfyotxuov %£>utou of Alexander and Lysimachus weighed 266 and 
265 grains ; the rer^aa-raT^ of the latter 540 grains. An engraving 
from a golden tetradrachm of Alexander is produced by Liebe, p. v. 



* Respecting the value of the talent of gold, see Corsini, Diss, xii., and Hemsterhusius 
on Pollux, 1. ix. 57., and Knight's Prol. on Horn. sec. 55. The antient globular gold 
coins of some of the Asiatics, are the Talent of Homer, struck and stamped, and 
weighing about 260 grains. Among the gold coins in circulation at Athens, we may 
mention the Darics, worth, as well as the stater, 20 silver drachmas. There is no doubt 
respecting the value of this coin among any of the ancient writers. 



3 m 2 



( 452 ) 



REMARKS ON THE AMYCL^EAN MARBLES. 

LETTER FROM LORD ABERDEEN TO THE EDITOR. 
DEAR WaLPOLE, ( Argyll House, May 26. 1817. 

According to your request I send you a representation of the 
Amyclsean marbles. They are sufficiently interesting in themselves, 
but they acquire an additional importance from being instrumental in 
the detection of daring imposture ; and in this point of view I shall 
first consider them. We may, it is true, presume that few persons 
are at this time the dupes of the literary frauds so extensively practised 
by the Abbe Fourmont. Mr. Knight has so ably exposed the nature 
of his pretended discoveries, and from the internal evidence afforded 
by his inscriptions, has so satisfactorily refuted all their claims to 
authenticity *, that in England it would be difficult to find a com- 
petent judge who should now hesitate an instant in forming his 
opinion respecting them. But as the inventions of the Abbe have 
imposed on many estimable and learned persons, and as in France a 
reluctance still exists to view them in their proper light, it is fortunate 
that we are furnished by these marbles with additional proofs of his 
falsehood, still more indisputable if possible than those already pro- 
duced. The Abbe Barthelemy f, M. d'Hancarville, Count Caylus, 
and others, have received these forgeries as authentic, and have in- 
considerately adopted notions, constructed systems, and published 
dissertations concerning them, which of course can have no foun- 



* Analysis of Greek Alphabet. 

f It is to be lamented that in the recent editions of the Voyage d'Anacharsis, the same 
idle and groundless speculations are still permitted to disfigure that admirable work. 
Larcher and Valckenaer had been deceived by the forgery of Fourmont (see Theocr. 
275.); but in the late edition of Greg, de Dial, by Schacfer, we find the following re- 
mark : — " Notandum est harum inscription um Fourmontianarum fidem esse sublestissi- 
mam." P. 496. 



To /i- - //. 



^ia!hb-t.:r.s b:r or' r vfirr tr try, 

KEIKM^OFRMOOID; OF AMTTCILA22 
BT THE EAE1 OF ABEMBEEE . 




* 3 Feef tolhabes . 




lo^-d aJv~. 



REMARKS ON THE AMYCLiEAN MARBLES. 



453 



dation, thereby holding out a salutary lesson of the necessity of caution 
and prudence in the explanation of objects connected with remote 
antiquity. 

I should observe, that, according to the Abbe Fourmont, the 
marbles in question were to be seen in a temple which he discovered 
near Amyclae, of the goddess Oga or Onga, to whom, according to 
an inscription on the edifice, it was dedicated by King Eurotas about 
fifteen hundred years before Christ. Count Caylus* has published 
an engraving of these marbles from a drawing preserved among the 
papers of the Abbe in the king's library in Paris. In this drawing it 
is not very easy to recognise the originals. The subjects supposed 
to be represented by the sculpture are human limbs, arms, hands, 
feet, and legs, with knives and other instruments, denoting the 
sacrifice of human victims ; a circumstance which very naturally 
puzzles the Count, considering that the inscriptions are not written 
in a character peculiarly antient, and that the silence of historians is 
uniform respecting the existence of a worship in Greece at any 
period, which prescribed such rites. The temple, which the Abbe 
describes as composed of massive blocks of stone, and whose simple 
and solid construction had enabled it to stand until the middle of the 
last century, as well as the inscription on the front, which informed 
him of the fact of its dedication, have all unfortunately vanished. 
But I apprehend, that although the temple of the goddess has dis- 
appeared, the true building, when divested of this antient and 
venerable character, still exists in the shape of a modern Greek 
chapel, in which M. Fourmont, if he was himself ever actually at 
Sparta, may have seen the marbles, and where I found them in the 
year 1803. 

It cannot be necessary to detain you longer with the impudent 
frauds of this person. You will find them in the Memoirs of the 
Academy of Inscriptions, where they are supported by all the parade 



* Recueil d'Antiquites, torn. ii. pi. 51 . 



454 REMARKS ON THE AMYCL^AN MARBLES. 

of learned disquisition.* For their full detection I refer you to the 
work of Mr. Knight. 

Having now stated what these marbles certainly are not, we may 
proceed to enquire into their real nature and probable destination. 
The small and ruinous Greek chapel in which they were fixed, is 
near to the village of Slavochori. There seems no reason to doubt 
that this village, such as it is, was the situation of the antient 
Amy else ; its position relatively with that of Sparta accords perfectly 
with the accounts of Greek writers f ; and if further proofs were 
requisite, it might be afforded by the circumstance of my having 
discovered in the course of conducting some excavations, several 
inscriptions, on one of which were the letters AMTFCA . The precise 
spot on which the temple of Apollo stood cannot now be ascertained 
from an inspection of the ground alone, and in the endeavours which I 
made in two or three places, by means of digging, no satisfactory in- 
formation was obtained ; indeed few of the remains appeared to be 
of an antiquity prior to the Roman conquest. 

This temple is described by Pausanias as one of the most ancient 
and most celebrated in the Peloponnesus. The statue of the god was 
a curious specimen of early sculpture by some unknown artist; it 
was more than forty feet high, and of the rudest workmanship, re- 
sembling in some measure a column of bronze, to which a head, 
feet, and hands had been affixed. He mentions several of the votive 
offerings, and in common with other writers, he contributes to give 
a high notion of the magnificence and extent of the building. J 

The question which now arises for our consideration, is, whether 
the marbles formerly belonged to this temple, or were in any degree 
connected with it ; to which I am inclined to answer in the negative, 
and principally for this reason : — The subjects of the sculpture, as 
you will observe, are for the most part articles of female dress or 
ornament; combs, bodkins, mirrors, paint-boxes, &c. Round the 



* Memoires de PAcademie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, torn. vii. xv. xvi. xxiii. 
t Polyb. lib. v. c. 1 9. The place is still also KoiKXthvlpoTurog xa) x«XXixap7roVaTOf. 
\ Pausan. Lacon. 



REMARKS ON THE AMYCLiEAN MARBLES. 



455 



edge of each marble is a wreath composed of the mystic plants sacred 
to Ceres or to Bacchus ; ears of corn, pomegranates, cones of the fir, 
ivy, &c. In the centre of each is the representation of a patera, in 
one of which is inscribed 

AN0OTCH AAMAINETOT YflOCTATPIA 

and in the other, 

AATArHTA ANTIITATPOT IEPEIA. 

Now I have not been able to find any authority for supposing that the 
custody of the temple of the Amyclsean Apollo was committed to 
women, or the rites performed by priestesses ; and it is scarcely credi- 
ble that Pausanias, who dwells so long on the subject, should omit to 
mention a circumstance in itself not of very frequent occurrence, 
and which on other occasions of less interest he does not fail to re- 
cord. The Abbe Fourmont, it is true, tells us, that he found at 
Amyclee an inscription containing nothing less than a list of all the 
priestesses, inscribed at different periods, from the date of the found- 
ation of the temple down to the time of the Roman conquest. 
Among the first of these ladies, or as he calls them, the fiotregeg 
Kai Ksqsca tv AttoWuvos, we find the name of Laodamia, the daughter 
of King Amyclas, who, if she ever had any existence at all, lived 
before the Trojan war. The boldness of this forgery can only 
be equalled by the author's ignorance of the language in which he 
attempts to write, and even of the proper forms of the letters which 
he employs ; for he has produced a jargon unlike the Greek of any 
dialect, and has given us the representation of characters which are 
not only unknown in Greek paleography, but many of which are 
entirely at variance with the principles which appear universally to 
have regulated the mode of writing pursued throughout the widely- 
extended settlements of this people in the most ancient times. The 
silence therefore of ancient authors, and especially of Pausanias, is 
almost decisive on this point ; indeed, I fear that the inscriptions on 
our marbles offer the only argument, feeble as it is, to prove that 
priestesses had ever belonged to the Amyclsean temple. The Abbe 
Fourmont observed these inscriptions near to the probable site of the 



456 REMARKS ON THE AMYCL^AN MARBLES. 

ancient Amyclae ; he at once appropriated them to the temple of 
Apollo, and followed up this decision by the brilliant invention of the 
catalogue which I have mentioned. Other antiquaries have also spoken 
of the priestesses of Apollo, but so far as I have been able to learn, 
on no other foundation than the pretended discoveries of this person. 

Although the village of Slavo-chori appears indisputably to mark the 
situation of Amyclae, and although these marbles were discovered in 
the immediate neighbourhood, I am inclined to believe that they ori- 
ginally belonged to a less celebrated spot. Pausanias speaks of a 
ruined town near Amyclae, called Bryseae, where was a temple of 
Bacchus and certain sculptures. He adds, that it was permitted only 
to women to enter the temple ; and that women only performed the 
sacrifices. * The plants sacred to Bacchus, which are represented on 
the marbles, indicate the connection, and it appears not improbable 
that they were brought from this temple, which could not have been 
distant, for it is evident they were not in their original position when 
discovered in the ruined Greek chapel of Slavo-chori. 

It is not easy satisfactorily to explain the purpose of these sculp- 
tures, but they seem perhaps to have been a kind of votive offering on 
the part of the priestess when entering on her sacred functions. The 
practice among the Greek women was not unfrequent of dedicating 
their ornaments to some deity on particular occasions ; and if a lady 
offers her mirror to Venus when no longer young, it is not unreasonable 
to imagine that these articles of female decoration should be thus 
ostensibly abandoned on the assumption of the priesthood. If we 
look to the inscriptions, with a view to a more clear explanation of 
the marbles, I fear that we shall obtain no real solution of the diffi- 
culty. One of these merely records the name of the priestess ; the 
other I am not able wholly to explain. The word v-nog-ur^a. is new to 
me ; but although the precise meaning of the title has eluded my re- 
search, we may presume that it signifies some office connected with 



* Pausan. Lacon. cap. xx. 



REMARKS ON THE AMYCL2EAN MARBLES. 



457 



the temple. From the probable etymology of the term, it would ap- 
pear to have a relation to distribution or regulated measure ; this con- 
jecture, however, is uncertain, and is liable to objections. Possibly 
you may be more fortunate, or are already better informed on the 
subject. 

I remain very sincerely yours, 

Aberdeen. 

We may, with Lord Aberdeen, consider the marbles as offerings 
made by the priestesses * Anthusa and Laoageta ; or as consecrated, 
during the priesthood of these women. In the latter case they are pre- 
sented as votive offerings by the KOIMHTPIAI, or ornatrices of some 
deity. The office of a koo-^t^k of any goddess, was to attend to the 
dress and ornaments of the statue ; the Specula and Pectines, both 
of which are seen on the Amyclaean marbles, are mentioned by 
Apuleius f, as carried by women who were employed in that character. 
The word KOSMOrTAOKOS is used sometimes ; we find it in an in- 
scription quoted by Spanheim, Ob. in H. in Pall. Callim. 

HPAKAEI BASIAEI 
ANTONIO^ A1IEAET 
3EBA KO^MOIIAOKOS 
ANEOHKEN 

" To Hercules, King ; Antonius Freed-man, ornator of Augusta, 
dedicated this." 



* Caylus considers the word 'KVocr-raTpja in the lower marble as signifying Sous-pretresse. 
The name AATArHTA is probably written for AAOArHTA; as AATAIKH for AaoS/xw in 
an inscription found at Smyrna. — See Boissonade in Greg, de Dial. Ed. Schaef. 179« 

f " Aliae mulieres qua? nitentibus speculis pone tergum reversis venienti deae obviura 
commonstrarent obsequium, et qua? pectines eburneos ferentes." Lib. xi. — See Tertull. 
de Jejun. c. xvi. Also Hesychius in v. 3$APAXHPi2, 



3 N 



( 458 ) 



REMARKS ON SOME GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 

[BY THE EDITOR.] 

Some Greek inscriptions, most of which have never yet been pub- 
lished, are inserted in this part of the volume ; and a few remarks 
are added by the Editor, for the purpose of illustration. Documents 
of this kind are of importance, when they fix the doubtful site of 
some city or town, or when they throw light on the paleography 
and ancient dialects of Greece. * We may mention the Orchomenian 
inscriptions, as among the most important which have been lately 
discovered, if we consider them with reference to the dialect. The 
Elean tablet brought to England by Sir W. Gell may be added, as 
well as some of the Elgin inscribed marbles. 

Many of the numerous inscriptions copied by Cyriacus, and found 
in the collections of Muratori, Gruter, Hesselius, and other writers, 
are incorrectly transcribed. Some of these have been emended by 
Valckenaer, Koehn, and Bentley ; but as the original marbles have 
been frequently destroyed, it is impossible to compare the copies 
with them. Of the ancient inscriptions which are sculptured on 
rocks, we may mention that which was found by Professor Carlyle 
and Colonel Leake, in their route through Asia Minor ; those also 
which are to be seen on Mount Anchesmus, and on the south-side of 
the Acropolis at Athens ; the Latin words in the defile of Tempe, and 
the Greek characters sculptured on the rock near Jerusalem, by the 
early Christians, f 



* An inscription found by Col. Leake in Thessaly may be here referred to as illustrat- 
ing a passage in Plato : it commemorates an offering, AETAOTNI ; this is the Thessalian 
name of Apollo, who, as we learn from Plato, was called by the same people AIIAOS. — 
Craty. 

f AriASmN. — See Dr. Clarke's Travels, vol. ii. 



GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 



459 



I. 

TON A0ENEON A0AON EMI 

These words are written in very ancient characters reversed, on a 
vase* found by Mr. Burgon, in Attica. Mr. Blomfield supposes that 
AQyveuv is written for AQyvw, and he refers to Homer, Herodotus, and 
Aristophanes, where this word is found. We may add two passages, 
one from Thales (Epist. ad Pherecy.) ; another from Xenophon, (see 
Greg, de D. ed. Schaefer. 381.) The inscription may therefore imply, 
as he has rendered it, " I am the prize given by Athens." 

Mr. Knight refers the words to a prize given at the Athenaea ; 
A&ji/owa, as we learn from Corsini, F. A. ii. Diss. 13. was a name ap- 
plied to a festival once called Yldvtivipov. 

The use of E for AI is found in other Greek inscriptions ; two in- 
stances may be observed in Chandler, Ins. xvi. p. 6. and Ins. xlviii. 
part 1. In the Diar. Ital. of Montfaucon, XAIPAI occurs four times 
for XAIPE. XEPE for XA1PE was copied by Villoison ; KE for KAI may 
be seen in Dr. Hunt's Journal, p. 105. An inscription found on the 
confines of Attica, of the date of the second century before Christ, 
and of which a copy was given to the Editor by M. Fauvel, has the 
words KE APrTPOTN KE ETEPA ASHMA. 

In consequence of the similar sound given to AI and E by the By- 
zantine and Neoteric Greeks, the mistakes in manuscripts are nume- 
rous ; but it is evident from what has been said that the substitution 
of one of these letters for the others is of an older date than is gene- 
rally supposed. Notat Schol. Theocriti ad Id. i. v. 12. pro yata anti- 
quos dixisse yea, unde yecaXo<po$, avuytuv, xaruyecov. Lucian Ed. Reiz. 
vol. iii. p. 20. The time when the confusion of these letters became 
more general is noted by Vossius : — " ATiberii etCaligulae temporibus 
tarn apud Romanos quam apud Graecos, mos obtinuit, ut dipthongus 
AI velut E simplex pronuntiaretur." Voss. in Catull. 291. 



See Clarke's Travels, vol. iv. part I. 
3 n 2 



460 



GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 



II. 

Found at Carditza, near the ruins of Acroephia, in Boeotia. From 
Mr. Hawkins. 

HIIOAI3 
ArAMH^TOPA 
ZGIITPOr 
HP&A 

" On trouve ces trois usages du mot de HPX1S ; l'un pour dire sim- 
plement un homme de valeur, ou un brave homrae, et qui fait bien 
sa charge ; l'autre pour un homme, qui par sa vertu et par ses 
bienfaits a ete mis au rang des Dieux ou demi-Dieux apres sa mort ; 
3, pour un mort a qui on rend quelque sort d'honneur, ou qu'on 
nomme ainsi k«t' eu<^prpw;" — Spanheim, Cesars de Julien, 115. 

III. 

Found in the island of Zante ; see Chandler, Ins. Antiq. 

APXIKAH2 API2TOMENE02 KAI AAKI 
A AM A APXIKAEOS KAHNinnANTANAT 
T12N ©TrATEPA 0EOKOAH2A2AN APTEMITI 
OniTAIAI. 

The statue of Clenippa, a priestess, daughter of Archicles and Alci- 
dama, is dedicated to Diana Opitais.* Similar forms of consecration 
are met with in Greek inscriptions ; in Rein. xi. CI. v. the statue of 
Minyra, a priestess, is dedicated by her brother to the celestial 
Venus. 

APTAMTTI is seen in Chandler, Part. ii. Ins. cxlv. ; and in another 
found in Muratori, and corrected by Ruhnkenius, in Greg, de D., we 
read ATPEMITI, " To Diana." 



* Chandler translates the words, " Quae sacerdos fuit Dianae Opitaidis." ©eoxo'Aoj is 
explained in Hesychius, by lepeix. 



GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 



461 



IV. 

Found on the altar of the new church at Sciatho. From Mr. 
Hawkins. 

ATTOKPATOPA 
KAICAPA TPAIANON 
A A PI ANON CEBAC 
TON OATNniON 
O APXIEPETCADO nA 

tpoc <j>iAinnoc 4>iAin 

nOT AZHNIETC EK T£N 
IAH2N. 

This inscription is given here, because in the copy made by Villoi- 
son, the word AAPIANON is omitted. See Mem. de l'Acad. des Ins. 
xlvii. 314. 

The word OATNniON is written in the same manner in other con- 
temporaneous inscriptions. It occurs in some copied by Captain 
Beaufort on the southern coast of Asia Minor. We may remark, 
that it is also a very ancient form, as it is seen on the Elean tablet 
brought to England by Sir W. Gell. 

c O 0tqx> oi. 7T. " qui tient de son pere la dignite du grand pretre." 
Villoison. 

Ex. r. i. answers to the form S. P. F. C. of the Latins, — Sua pecunia 
faciendum curavit. 

V. 

Found at Lyttus, in Crete. From Mr. Hawkins. 

MAPKIANHN 2EBA 
2THN 0EANATTO 
KPATOPOS NEPOTA 
TPAIANOT KAI2APOS 
SEBA2TOT TEPMA 
N1KOT AAK1KOTA 
AEA$HN ATTTi2N 
H nOAIS AIAnPOTO 
K02M0T TI KAATAI 
OT BOINOBIOT. 



462 



GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 



In the inscriptions found at this place, and communicated by Mr. 
Hawkins, we read ATTTX1N and ATTTIX1N H nOAIS : in those given by 
Van Dale the name is written incorrectly AITTinN. (752. Diss.) The 
inscriptions of Mr. Hawkins establish the reading in Strabo proposed 
by the last German editors, Avttw, instead of Auxtov. The city, ac- 
cording to Stephanus, was so called from its lofty situation ; Xvttoi ol 
v^rjXot TOTrot. Hesych. Mr. H. remarks, that the situation is remark- 
ably elevated. 

The officer Tr^TOKovpog designates the chief of those magistrates, 
who were called Koo-^o/, and who are frequently mentioned in in- 
scriptions. See Rein. CI. vii. n. 22, and Chishull. Anti. Asi. 123. 

VI. 

In the church of St. George, at Apollonia, in Bithynia. From 
Mr. Hawkins. 

IOTAIOS KEAEP EK 
TON IALQN KATE2KETA 
2ENAHMX2 TQ AITOAAI2NI 
AT&N THN TnOXX2PH^IN 
KAI TAIOS IOTAI02 EPMA^O 
KAI MEPKOrnOS E^TPfiSENEK 
TUN IAIHN THN ITAATEIAN AnO 
TOT ZTT0STA2I0T MEXPI 
TH3 TnOXi2PHSE122. 

" Caius Julius Celer, built at his own expence for the people of 
Apollonia the recess or passage ; and Caius Julius Hermas, who is 
called also Mercupus, paved at his own cost the broad court leading 
from the Zygostasium as far as the recess." This is the only instance 
of the word rnox- being applied to any building or part of a city. 
It is always used in reference to the human body. 

EST. ill line 6. and 7. We find in Lampridius, " Stravit plateas 
saxis Lacedaemoniis." Heliog. 109. Salm. 



GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 



463 



VII. 

Found at the Piraeus, inscribed on a stone. From M. Fauvel. 

OPOS MNHMAT02 

The meaning of these words is well explained by Van Dale de 
Cons. Ethn. : " Ut autem eo minus esset periculum profanationis, 
agri, luci, aut termini sive limites, aliaque loca dedicata aut con- 
secrata, vel muris circumsepiebantur, vel aliter notabantur." 

On a sepulchral cippus, M. Fauvel found also 

OP02 SH 
MAT02 O 
NH2IM0T 

VIII. 

Found in the ruins of the temple of the Didymean Apollo. From 
the Earl of Aberdeen. 

ATA0H TTXH 
HBOTAH KAI O 
AHM02 ETEIMH 
2EN ATPHAION 
nOSlA&NION E 
PMIOT NIKH2ANTA 
TA MErAAA AIAT 
MEIA ITAAHN TPI2 
TO. IEPii TOT AI 
ATMEI22 AIIOA 
AX2N02 KATA TA 
TP AMENTA AT . . 
*H*ISMATA A 
NA2TA0ENTO2 TOT 
TOT ANAPIANT02 
TnO TOT IIATP02 
ATTOT ATP EPMI 
OT En ATP . . . 
ArA0OnOAO2 
TOT AnOAAQNIOT . 



464 



GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 



" The senate and people honour Aurelius Posidonius, the son of 
Hermias, (who bore away the prize three times in wrestling in the 
great Didymean games,) in the temple of the Didymean Apollo, 
according to the decree proposed ; the statue being raised by his 
father Aurelius Hermias, in the magistracy of Aurelius Agathopus, 
son of Apollonius." 

IX. 

Found near the temple of the Didymean Apollo, on the thigh of a 
statue. From the same. 

^ATNIqANA^OT 

Some more letters were found written in the Boustrophedon 
character on the thigh of the same statue ; those we have printed 
contain distinctly the words rovg uv^uvrotg. If they relate to the 
person who made this or other statues, we see an additional proof of 
the custom of inscribing the name of the artist on the thigh of the 
figure. Cicero, in one of the Verrine orations, mentions an Apollo, 
on whose thigh was written in letters of silver the name of Myron. 

There are also representations of Etruscan Athletse, which bear 
characters inscribed on this part of their body. There is one of a 
Greek wrestler, on whose thigh are written the words KA<WIOAflPOS 
and AISXPAMIOT. It would appear therefore that inscriptions placed 
on this part of the body designated the persons bearing them to 
have been successful combatants or conquerors. Montfaucon has 
introduced on this subject the following remark in his great work : — 
" S'il est permis de meler la sacre avec le profane, ceci a quelque 
rapport avec ce passage de 1' Apocalypse, ou il est dit de notre Seigneur 
victorieux, qu'il portoit ecrit sur sa cuisse, et sur son habit, le Roi 
des Rois. Cette ecriture sur la cuisse etoit done une marque d'hon- 
neur et de victoire." Vol. iii. part ii. 269. An. Ex. 

X. 

Found at Daulis, by the Earl of Aberdeen. On the other side of 
the same stone is an inscription of equal length, which was copied by 



GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 



465 



Col. Leake. That which is subjoined contains a decree pronounced 
by Titus Flavius Eubulus respecting some portions of land, which are 
assigned to the city of Daulis, and to Memmius Antiochus. The 
date of the inscription is 118, anno Christi. Fuscus Salinator is men- 
tioned in the letters of Pliny, book vi. lett. 26. 

ArAQHITTXHI 
ATTOKPATOPI TPAIANXi AAPIANQ KAI 
SAPI 3EBA2T& TO B TNAm nEAANIii *OT 
^Ka 3AAEINATOPI TIIAT0J2 IIPO * 
K NOTENBPIX2N EN XAIPX2NEIA 
ZIOTTPOS API2TI&N02 KAI IIAPMENI2N 
ZIOTTPOT 01 ErAIKOITH^ AATAIE&N no 
AE&2 EMAPTTPOnOIH^ANTO AII0#A2lNt 
ANTirErPA*0AI THN AO0EI3AN TnO T <I>AAOT 
IOT ETBOTAOT THN TnOTErPAMENHN 
T 4>AATI02 ETBOTAOS O AO0EI3 KPITH2 KAI OPI 
%THS TnO KA^IOT MAHIMOT AN0TFTATOT KAI THPH 
0EI2 TnO OTAAEPIOT 2EOTHPOT AN0TIIATOT META 
HT ZX2HTP0T TOT API^TmNO^ KAI nAPMENiiNOS 
TOT ZIOTTPOT KAI MEMMIOT ANTIOXOT nEPIXQPA^ 
AM4>I^BHTOTMENH2 AK0T2A2 \ EKATEPOT MEP0T2 
E<I>020N EBOTAONTO KAI Eni THN ATTO*IAN EA0X2N 
KEAET2ANT0S ME AnO<t>HNA0AI KAX2AIOT TP A 
NIANOT TOT KPATI2T0T AN0TnATOT KPEINii KA0I22 

TnorETPAnTAi ArpoT APTnnioT on htopa^e 

nAPA T12N KAEA2 KAHPONOM&N MEMMI02 ANTIO 
X02 KATAAABOMENOS EK TON EniME KOMI20EN 
TON TPAMMAT12N nPOSHKEIN ANTI0X12 nAE0PA 
<M2KIKA TAE OSA AN ETPE0H nAEIG TOTTON 
KPEINX2 EINAI TH2 AATAIE&N nOAEHS OMOI 
at ATPOT ETHTAEIA^ nAE0PA TA KPEINX2 
EINAI ANTIOXOT TA AE AOinA TH^ nOAE&S EI 
NAI Xi2PIi2N nAATANOT KAI MOSXOTOME&N 



* nPO ©K : this is the date, ?rpb hvveu K«A. A similar form occurs in some inscriptions 
published by Montfaucon, Diar. Ital. and in Theophanes Chron. we find npb ££ liSwv 4>e/3. 
and ttpb Te<r<roc.pwv vwvcov "^sir. 

-f- 'Awopatnj, or onrofxva-ts, as the word was sometimes written (Wytt. Plut. Anim. i. 
206.) is applied also to the Amphictyonic decrees. Diod. S. xvi. c. 24. 

X The letters in the copy are AK0Y2 ; Mr. Elmsley proposes AK0Y2A3. 

3 o 



466 



GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 



I1AE0PA SAKPEINI2 EINAI ANTIOXOT TA AE AOI 
IIA TH2 nOAEI22 THN AE APXHN TH2 METPH^E&S 
KPEINQ TENE20AI TH2 XX2PAS O0EN AN BOT 
AHTAI ANTI0X02 EN EKATEPUN TUN ATP12N 

APrnnm kai ethtaeia en ae nAATANii 

KAI M0SX0T0MEAI2 MIA En AM^OTEPOI^ AP 
XH TH2 METPH2EI22 E^TAI METPOTMEN12N 
ATO THS AO0EISH2 APXHS T&N E<I>EBHS MH 
EAAOTOTMENGN TAIS METPH2E2IN AIIASAIS 
MHTE PEI0P&N MHTE 02A TPAXEA ONTA KAI 
MH ATNAMENA TEftPrEI^OAI TIIEP AEKA5*T 
PAS E^TIN-nAPHSAN * T <MATI02 ETBOT , 
AOS AnE^HNAMHN KAI ES^PAITSMAI A'MES 
TPI02 SilKAAPOT KAEOMENH2 KAEOMENOTS 
NEIK&N 2TM*0P0T AAMI7PIA2 NEIKI2NOS 
ZX2I1TP02 ANTIIIATPOT SI22IBIOS APAK& 
NOS NEIKHN AAEHANAPOT AEI2N 0EOAO 
TOT KAAAX2N *TAAK02 KA2SIOS MAPTIANOT 
*H*I2MATI THS IlOAEftS 

" The Emperor Trajan Hadrian Caesar Augustus, second time Con- 
sul, and Cnasus Pedanius Fuscus Salinator being also Consul, on the 
24th October, at ChaRronaea, Zopyrus, son of Aristion, and Parmeno, 
son of Zopyrus, the magistrates of the city Daulis, testified that the un- 
derwritten decision, which was made by T. Flavius Eubulus, has been 
copied. 6 I, T. Flavius Eubulus, who was appointed judge and arbi- 
ter by Casius Maximus, Proconsul, and Valerius Severus, Proconsul, 
between Zopyrus, son of Aristion, and Parmeno, son of Zopyrus, and 
Memmius Antiochus, concerning the land that was disputed; having 
heard each side, as far as they wished, and having come to an exami- 
nation of the land, Claudius Granianus, the chief Proconsul, ordering 
me to declare my opinion, I decree as is underwritten : — Judging from 
the writings brought to me, 436 Phocic Plethra of the field called 
Dryppius, which Memmius Antiochus bought from the heirs of Clea, 



* Hafr^uuv. A similar form with the names of the persons present, is seen in an 
inscription in p. 604. Marm. Oxon. ed. Maitt. 



GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 



467 



belong to Antiochus ; whatever more than these, be found, I decree 
shall belong to the city of Daulis. Also of the field called Euxyleia, 
430 Plethra belong to Antiochus ; the rest is the property of the city 
of Daulis. Of the places called Platanus and Moschotomiae, 230 
Plethra, I decree to belong to Antiochus ; the remainder is the pro- 
perty of the city. The beginning of the measurements in each of the 
fields called Dryppius and Euxyleia shall commence at the spot where 
Antiochus may wish ; but in the Platanus and Moschotomiae the 
two parties shall have the same beginning for their measurements, 
which shall take place from a given point, the following parts not 
being reckoned in the measurements ; namely, no stream, nor whatever 
piece of ground there be, that is rough and incapable of tillage. * * * 
There were present (I, T. Flavius Eubulus declared my opinion, and 
affixed my seal) ; Lucius Mestrius the son of Soclarus ; Cleomenes, 
the son of Cleomenes ; Nico, the son of Symphorus ; Lamprias, the 
son of Nico ; Zopyrus, the son of Antipator j Sosibius, the son of 
Draco ; Nico, the son of Alexander ; Leo, the son of Theodotus ; 
Callo, the son of Phylax ; Cassius, the son of Marcianus.' By the 
decree of the city." 

XL 

Copied by the editor at Geyra, the ancient Aphrodisias. 

ZH. 

O KAI H ESTIN OTAIIIOT XA 

PITONOS IATPOT I^HN 20PON TE0HSE 
TAI ATT02 KAI <MOA2lA H TTNHATTOT 
KAI 0TAIII02 AIIEAAA2 O TfOS ATTONE 
IIEIO0A*A2 ETEPON AITOTEISEI EI2TEI 
MAS TON 2EBA2T12N X. 

The word ZH [vivat] occurs at the beginning as well as at the end 
of inscriptions ; see Chishull. Ant. Asiat. Append. Sometimes Zua-iv 
is used. 

There is nothing remarkable in this epitaph except the mode of 
writing I for EI, and the reverse. We may observe instances of this 

3 o 2 



468 



GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 



in other inscriptions ; see Falcon, ad Athlet. Inscr. H, I, OI, EI, and 
T have been for many centuries written one for the other, and the 
same sound given to them by the Neoteric Greeks. This remark 
applies also to A I and E. " Tarn captiosa pronuntiatio mendis infinitis 
libros opplevit" (Bentl. ad I. Millium.) What was the real power of 
these different letters we shall never know ; we may, however, say 
with Ramirez de Prado, "frustra distinctce essent Uteres r, a, a, u, /, si 
nihil differrent sono." Pentec. c. 34. The corrupted sound of some 
of them is as early as the second century of the Christian sera. We 
find t for si in the time of Tiberius, Mont. Palae. 155 ; et for ; in an 
inscription at Ancyra of the year 180, (ib. 163.) ?? for v in an epitaph 
on the wife of Julius Severus, who lived about the year 155. Mont- 
faucon observes that few instances occur of the change of n\ and /, 
before the seventh century. (Pal. 139.) 

XII. 

At Gheumbrek, on the Troad. See Dr. Hunt's journal, p. 104. 

" The young men honor Asclapon, the son of Callippus the Gym- 

nasiarch, called ." The words refer to some mark of respect 

paid by the young men who were instructed in their exercises for the 
public games by the Gymnasiarch. The word XPHM ATI SANTA 
applies to the title or name which had been given to Asclapon. In 
Lord Aberdeen's copy, we find AZKAHniXlNA. 

XIII. 

Found on a sarcophagus on the European shore of the Propontis, 
near Boyuk Chekmagee. Communicated by Dr. Hunt. 

ATPHA1A BAOTKIA Z12SA KAI 4>PONOT2A KATE2KETA2E TO 
A ATOM ION STN THlSTHAHIEMATTHI KAI Ti2irATKTTA 
M MOT ANAPI SATTP&NIAftl TnOMNEIAS XAP1N ZH2 
ANTI ETHTPIAKONTAMEMIITX22 MHAEN AETEP 
ON EEESTAI BAH0HNAI E2ATTO EIMH TA TEKNA MOT 
EIAETI2 KATA0HTAI ETEPO ITT&MA A&2EI TH IIOAEI 
XA*. XA1PE EIAP0ENA. 



GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 



469 



It is unusual to find the term Aocto^icv used to express the stone- 
tomb on which the body of the deceased is placed. lopof is generally 
applied in sepulchral inscriptions. We may here observe the difference 
between the Alexandrian use of Sopo?, and that of the European and 
Asiatic Greeks. In the Septuagint, where mention is made of the 
death of Joseph, it is said his body was placed lv rri lop, " in a 
wooden chest ;" this was done in reference to the custom of the 
Egyptians. " When Joseph died," says Michaelis, " his brethren 
did not bury him ; but, as was not unusual among the Egyp- 
tians, let him remain embalmed in his coffin, until their de- 
scendants, at their departure from Palestine, carried his remains along 
with them. The Egyptians kept the bodies of their deceased friends 
in an erect posture in a coffin ; in some such chest were Joseph's 
unburied bones preserved." — On the Laws of Moses, vol. i. p. 162. 

Injunctions similar to those mentioned in this inscription, forbid- 
ding the sepulchre to be used by any other persons than members of the 
same family are not uncommon. Fines were levied, if the prohibi- 
tion was not regarded, and the money was paid to the public treasury. 
D. F. C. dabit Jisco centum, is a Latin form which we sometimes 
meet with. Soroi and Sarcophagi were broken open for the sake of 
the ornaments of gold, or the money frequently placed in them with 
the deceased. This practice seems to have been prevalent in the 
fourth century of the Christian aera: " Quarto seculo hcec impietas 
grassata^ Dorv. Char. i. 109. 

XIV. 

[See p. 103. of this Volume.] 

The inscription is of the date of the year 196 B. C. ; at that time 
Seleucus the Fourth was with his father Antiochus the Third on the 
banks of the Hellespont : " Bello Asiatico cum patre adfuit." Vaillant. 
His. Regum Syriae, p. 112. and p. 153. The inscription was also 
copied by Dr. Clarke. 

L. 10. The name of the city of which Metrodorus was a native 
is not discernible in the copy of this inscription. 



470 



GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 



L. 17. Some of the honours which are bestowed on Metrodorus are 
mentioned in this and the two following lines. K*»<*ip yag xoa olxiav 
occurs in the Byzantine decree in Demos, de Coron. In an inscription 
copied at Delos, we find ly.Kjonrtv yag zee) o. " libertatem emendi fundos 
et domos :" see Dorville in his account of Delos. In an inscription 
brought from the Levant by George Dousa, (Van Dale. Diss. 744.) 
we read, \(poobi> e~l rvjv f3ou\vjv kou tov driftov TTput^oig p,i\oL rot Isocc, " admitti 
statim post sacrificia :" and on a marble belonging to Burmann, we find, 

ttyohov S7rl To&f/, (3o\Xocv y.oci o^cc/xofA ysjtz Toy xpyy.cilirp.ov rou 7T£p< tuv law. 

Metrodorus, therefore, was allowed admission to the senate and people 
immediately after the sacrifices were performed. 

Valesius (Emen. 110.) says, the difference between zr^mv and 
'iyKTYjo-iv is pointed out by Ammonius ; tcryo-ig ryjg yy\g is " possessio in 
terra propria ;" lyzrvio-ig is possession " in aliena terra." 

XV. 

[See Dr. Hunt's Journal, p. 128.] 

" From his revenues derived from land, Cleostratus, adopted son 
of the state, but by nature son of Apellico, left for the purpose of orna- 
menting the city ." A mode of expression similar to that which 

we find in this inscription occurs in others ; as, <ln\uv 'AyXaov, <pvo-ei2e 
NiKuvog ; see Mem. de 1' A. des Ins. xxi. 413. 

XVI. 

Captain Light, in his Journal of a route through Upper Egypt and 
part of Nubia, says, that at Gartaas there are not less than a hundred 
Greek inscriptions ; five were copied by him ; and each contains a 
memorial of the act of homage and worship, to 7t^oo-kvvi]uoc, paid by 
persons who visited the place with their wives, children, friends, and 
brothers : META THL ZTMBIOT KAI TX1N TEKNHN KAI TX1N 
AAEA'PnN KAI TXIN OIAX1N. In another inscription, a person is men- 



GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 



471 



tioned, who EnOIHCEN THN KATITPTC1N {sic) TOT IEPOT. In the 
fourth inscription a priest is spoken of, fi OTAEIX TflN IEPEI2N 
LTNKPINE. . . " with whom no other priest is compared." In two of 
them, the month, QapevuQ *, is mentioned, in which the visit was 
paid by the persons coming to the temple and worshipping. The date 
is usually expressed, as we find from the inscriptions on the Mem- 
nomium, and from one copied by Captain Light and Mr. Legh at 
Dukkey, in which we find the word f $Ail3>r. 

The following inscription was copied by Captain Light at Ga- 
labshee : — 

EIIATA®* KTPIC 
TO ITPOCKT NHMA OA TAIOT 
KAEIOT KEAEIPOC HIIIEOC 

XwPTHC ©hbaiojN inni 

KHC TTPMHC KAAAICTI-T 
KAI TOT IIAIAIOT ATTOT 
KAI TcoN ABACKANTcoN 
AAEA^wN KAI TcoN ATTOT 
ITANTcuN Tw A Tco KTPIw 
AOTAIKTOT mnOTATTOT 

" The homage of Caius Cleius Celer, horseman or knight of the 
horse-troop of the Theban cohort ; of Callistius and of his child, and 
of the Abascanti brothers ; and of all who were there with the same 
master, — and of Hippolytus." In the six inscriptions copied at 
Dukkey by Captain Light, mention is made of the god Hermes ; in 
that which is printed in Mr. Legh's travels, p. 85., relating to 
Apollonius, the words ©EON EPMHN should be added after nP0C 
Captain Light's copy has ©E - - EPM - - 



* Answering to March. 

f 'O s lo-Tiv oxTwfyios. Arat. Schol. Phaenom. 462. See also Jablonski Gloss; Vocum 
JEgypt. 



472 



GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 



XVII. 

Found at Ciparissia, in the Morea. From Mr. Hawkins. 

TO KOINON T&N EAET0EPOAAKX2NJ2N 
TAION IOTAION AAK&NA ETPTKAEOT2 
TION TON IAION ETEPTETHN AAMAPMENI 
AA3 STPATHmN EIIEMEAH0H. 

This inscription occurs also in Reinesius, CI. iv. n. 120. Van Dale, 
Diss. 295., transcribes it, but he omits the £ in the word EYPYKAEOYZ. 
The form EIIIMEAH0ENTO£ TOY STPATHrOY occurs in many in- 
scriptions. For the meaning of STPATHroS, see Van Dale, Diss. 41 6. 

XVIII. 

Copied at Sunium. " On a fallen stone of the architrave of the 
temple of Minerva, some Greek had inscribed a short testimony to 
the memory of his sister." Hunt's Journal. 

ONHCIMOC 
EMNHC0H 
THC AAEA$HC 
XPHCTHC 

Similar inscriptions, written by persons visiting temples or cele- 
brated places, and commemorating their friends and relatives, are not 
uncommon. In Egypt we find on the Memnonium the following 
words ; — 

HAIOA&P03 ZHNIi 
NOS KAISAPEIAS nA 
N1AA02 HKOY2A A KAI 
EMNHS0HN ZHNI2N02 
KAI AIANOT AAEA3&N. 

D'Orville, Charit. ii. 533. proposes in the last line, yuiavov, or diXiauov: 
" I heard four times (the vocal statue), and remembered my brothers 
Zeno, iElianus." 

We may transcribe in this place part of another inscription on the 



GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 473 

Memnonium*, correcting one of the verses in D'Orville's copy of it. 
Charit. ii, 532. 

EKATON ATAH2ANT02 Em 17TAI0H BAABINA 
$£NA2 TAS ©EIAS MEMNONOS H <MMEN&0. 

HA0ON TMOT AEPATAI BA2IAHIAI TTIAE SABINNA 
&PA2 AE nPiiTA^ AAIOS HKEAP0M02. 

In the third line, opov and ry'Se are inserted improperly in the copy 
of D'Orville ; vpov and tuJs are doubtless the proper forms, and are 
given in Pococke and Hamilton's iEgyptiaca. There are many in- 
stances in which the later Greeks j* affected the archaisms and dialects 
of ancient Greece ; this is one, upou is written for ouou ; jffioles, quod 
vulgo notum, in v commutant. (Nunnes. ad Proclum ; see Gaisford's 
Hephsest. 451.) And ruth is the Doric word, signifying, " Here or 
hither;" rvt, ufe, Kpyjrsg, tviis, Sappho, v. Maittaire. 

XIX. 

See p. 104. Dr. Hunt's Journal. 
IAIEIZ. x. t. A. 

The same term of honor, ®eoV, was also applied, as we learn from 
Athenagoras, by the Ilieans to Hector: c O plv 'ixuvg 6so»"EzTcpoi Xeyei. 
Legat. pro Xtianis. 

In the same page of this volume is an inscription relating to the 
people of the tribe Panthois, who commemorate Sextus Julius, 
magistrate of the city, praefect of the Jabian cohort, who had also 
been gy mnasiarch, and had been the first to grant some donation of 



* On the same statue of Memnon are the following lines : — 

a nonoi h MErA ©ayma - - 

H MAAA TO ©EOS ENAON 

HT^EN *i2NHI RATA AE2XE0EAAON AIIANTA 
OT TAP ni2S AN ©NHTOS ANHP TAAE MHXANOGTO 
These are parts of the Iliad and Odyssey applied by the writer. See II. N. 99. Od. il. 
529. Od. IT. 197. 

f In another inscription found in Egypt, of the time of the Caesars, we read 
TAIAE *YAA1 <W2NETNTI, speaking of Philse. ^gypt. 52. 

3 p 



474 



GREEK INSCRIPTIONS, 



oil, and had discharged the office of Aliptes. With respect to 
expression npflTON TON AnAIIiNOE, see Muratori, Ins. ii. 632. 

XX. 

1. From Orchomenus. 
In the Elgin collection. See also Dr. Clarke's Travels, vol. iii 

0TNAPXO APX0NT02 MEIN02 0EI 

Aorem apxiapos etmeiao tami 

At ETBftAT APXEAAMI2 <I>i2KEIIXH 
02 AIIEAi2KA Ano TA2 20riTPA4>X2 
FIEAATi2N IT0AEMAPXI2N KH TX2N 
KATOlTTAilN ANEAOMENOS TA2 
20TITPA<M22 TAS KIMENA2 nAP ET 
<I>PONAKH 4>IAIAN KH IIA2IKAEIN0N 
KH TIMOMEIAON 4>X2KEIAS KH AAMO 
TEAEIN ATSIAAMX2 KH AIi2NT^I0N 
KA#I^OAX2Pi2 XHPI2NEIA KAT TO *A 
4>12MA TX2 AAMX2 

2. From Orchomenus. 

0TNAPXX2 APXONTOS MEIN02 AAAA 
KOMENIG FAPNiiN nOATKAEIOS 
TAMIA5 AnEA&KE ETBiiAT APXE 
AAMX2 <I>X2KE1I AnO TAS SOTITPA 
<J>12 TO KATAATnON KAT TO *A*l2MA 
TI2 AAMX2 ANEA0MEN02 TA2 20TT 
rPA4>I22 TA2 KIMENAS nAP 212*1 
AON KH ET*PONA <M2KEIA2 KH nAP 
AmNT^ION KA4>I20AX2P12 XHPX2NEI 
A KH AT2IAAM0N AAM0TEAI02 nE 
AATX2N nOAEMAPXilN KH TON KATO 
nTAi2N 

3. From Orchomenus. 

APX0NT02 EN EPXOMENT 0TNAPXX2 MEI 
N02 AAAAKOMEN 1X2 EN AE FEAATIH MI 
NOITAO APXEAAX2 MEIN02 nPATX2 OMO 
AOFA ETBX2AT FEAATIHT KH TH HOAI EP 



GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 



475 



XOMENIX2N EniAEI KEKOMI^TH ETBH 
AOS nAP TA% nOAIOS TO AANEION AnAN 
KAT TAS OMOAOriAS TA% TE0EI2A2 0T 
NAPXX2 APXONTOS MEIN02 0EIAT0IX2 
KH OTT 04>EIAETH ATTT ETI OT0EN ETA PTAN 
nOAIN AAA AFTEXI IIANTA nEPI IIANT02 
KH AI1OAEAOAN0I TH nOAI TT EXONTES 
TA2 OMOAOriAS EIMEN nOTI AEAOME 
NON XPONON ETBilAT EIIINOMIA2 FETIA 
nETTAPA BOTE2SI SOTN inHTS AIAKA 
Tint FIKATI nPOBATTS SOTNHTTS XEI 
AIH2 APXI TI2 XPON& O ENIATTOS O META 
0TNAPXON APXONTA EPX0MENIT2 A1TO 
TPA*E20H AE ETBX2AON KATENIATTON 
EKA2T0N nAP TON TAMIAN KH TON NOM. 
NANTA TEKATMATA TX2N nPOBAT&N KH 
TANHrilN KH TAN BOTfiN KH TAN inniiN K. 
KATINA ASAMAIX2N OIKHTftN nAEI0OS MEI. 
AnOrPA*ES0X2 AE nAElONA Ti2N TEITAM 
MENfiN EN TH SOrrxm>EI2l H AEKATI^. 

There are on the stone a few more lines, in which many of the 
letters are erased. 

REMARKS. 

The digamma occurs in the Orchomenian inscriptions : and as the 
Boeotians appear to have used it to a late period on marbles, their 
copies of Pindar probably continued to have this character inserted in 
those parts, where the poet's verse required it ; as Pyth. iv. 40, \ttl 
Yoi ; 65, Xe<p< Fo< ; 159, IttIuXto. YavocP. As the sound of the digamma 
could not have been the same in every district or colony of Greece, 
it is impossible * to say in what manner it was pronounced. Some- 
times it appears as T (in the coins of Velia f ) ; sometimes as B 
(among the Lacedaemonians) ; sometimes we see it expressing the 
power of S, as in e, F g whence comes the Latin se. 

* The difficulty of arriving at any certainty on this subject is stated by Heyne : — " In 
Unguis qua? usu populorum frequentari desierunt, de pronunciatione aliquid tuto statui ac 
decerni posse, nondum mihi persuadere potui." — Excurs. ii. ad lib. xix. 

f In Lucania, the colonists of which, being Phoceans from Ionia, used the form familiar 
to their countrymen. 

3 p 2 



476 GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 

As the following remarks of D'Orville, Valckenaer, and I. Vossius, 
are omitted in the works which treat of the sound and power of this 
letter, we may here transcribe them. 

" jEolicum Mud digamma in AFTTON," says D'Orville, speaking of 
the Delian inscription, " videtur nonnihil favere hodiernce pronunciationi 
GrcECorum, dtproq, oi<p9evTys." Mis. Obs. vii. 27. — The Bishop of LandafT, 
in his Hovcb Pelasgicce, considers the sound of the letter to be similar 
to that of F ; Larcher, Herod, vol. iv. 1. v. 192, says, that the 
digamma was pronounced sometimes as ou, and sometimes as v. It 
is impossible to understand how the word ZoFog should approach to 
Z,o<pog, unless the digamma had the sound of F. " Ad vocem <ro<pog 
propius accedit Zooc, imprimis si vox JEolico more Laconum scribatur 
XoFoq." Valck. ad Theoc. 271. 

The Latin infra and infera, according to Vossius, are derived * from 
ti/Fepa, id est, h spa ; ivFepov id est, eVepw. " Veteres Atticos et complures 
GrcecicB gentes 2u<rvvTtKug fuisse, et Fepa seu epa dixisse pro epos, satis 
constat:' (In Catull. 331.) 

Daps of the Roman, according to the same writer, is derived from 
the loiiq of the Greeks : the iEolians said JaF/f, and in a contracted 
form faFc, or 5*4. — Id. 203. 

1st Inscrip. 

Line 1. The Boeotian month, Theluthius, should be added to the 
list in Corsini. F. A. 

Ib. MEINOS is used for MHNO£ ; we find EFIOEISEN for EnOIHSEN 
in the Sigaean inscription, and AEEIIHI for <5Wr?/ in Test. Dorico. 
Gruter. ccxix. f 



" * Pro vero, Macedones, Cyprios, et alios Asiae populos h dixisse constat ex Hesy- 
chio, et aliis grammaticis." — Vossius, 331. 

f On referring to Gruter's Collection, p. 1036, we find an inscription given from the 
island of Chios. The copy which I made on the spot, enables us to correct some of the 
errors. Instead of the word AMITAAA read AAMITAAA; and in another line, instead of 
APT! AE#HBE1 0AAAHN, read APTI A E*HBE1AI2 0AAAGN. 



GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 



477 



Line 5. AI is written H ; we find instances of this change also in 
some of the contractions in the Doric infinitive moods ; as Si^h, for 
ottypv, dyuirxv, and otfjv. Greg.- 228. Ed. Schaefer. 

3d Inscrip. 

L. 1. T for n, as xiXvvyi in Sappho for x eXe ^ v v ; the ancient 
Romans also wrote funtes and frundes, for fontes and frondes. 

L. 5. I is written for e, as in AAMOTEAIOS in the second in- 
scription ; and for e/, as in Wthu The Cretans, and some of the 
Dorians, said Qtog for Ssog. Valck. Theoc. 286. 

L. 9. 'OsgiAw J' ovhv\ ovQsv. Diog. Laer. Platonis, v. i. 189. 

L. 10. The sense of aVs^s; is explained by Suidas ; dire%oi 

uithxtmvi civri rov cc7re\ct(:oi/' act) dvQig ev 'ETriy^ctfApari, to %peo? aVs%6<f. 

L. 11. AriOAEAOANGI, the common termination would be ANTI; 
as ea-TocKoivTi for so-TviKCio-t, Valck. Theoc. 374 ; and lo-ocvrt for <Va<r/, 
Greg. 324. 

L. 14. I OT N for STN. " Illud ob pro v in multis scriptum est. Valck. 
Theoc. 279. The Lacedaemonians said d^e<r<rcvcx, for aVeo-o-uTa/. Palm. 
Exerc. 60. 

Id. UiTo^.q Mo\. pro -TrerTopsg, TSTTotptg unde et petomta. Hemsterh. 
note 59. Pollux, ii. 1059. 

L. 15. FIKATI, Bzikoiti Hesychius, {Lijcun, Marm. Heracl. 

Translation. 
1. 

In the archonship of Thynarchus, in the month Theluthius, I, 
Archiarus, son of Eumelus, quaestor*, paid the undermentioned sums 
belonging to a contract, cancelling |, according to the decree of the 
people, with the polemarchs and inspectors %, the writings in the 
hands of Euphron, and Phidias, and Pasiclinus, and Timomelus, 



* If the word in the third line of the original is XH02, it is probably written for 
XAI02 dyctdo:. — Constant. Lex. 

t'Ava*p£i(rSa» ri]v <i\)yypa.<$r i v i syngrapham irritam facere. — Bud. 153. 
l^aTo'xnjj l7TiTY)pijT))f. — Const. Lex. 



478 



GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 



Phocians, and Demoteles, son of Lysidemus, and Dionysius, son of 
Cephisodoms of Chseronea. (Here the sum is stated.) 

2. 

In the archonship of Thynarchus, in the month Alalcomenius, 
Arnon, son of Polycles, quaestor, paid to Eubulus, Phocian, son of 
Archidemus, the undermentioned sums belonging to a contract, being 
the remainder which was due to him ; cancelling according to the 
decree of the people, with the polemarchs and inspectors, the bonds 
which are in the hands of Sophilus, and Euphron, Phocians, and 
Dionysius the Chseronean, son of Cephisodorus, and Lysidemus, son 
of Demoteles. (Here the sum is stated.) 

3. 

In the archonship of Thynarchus at Orchomenus, in the month 
Alalcomenius, and in the archonship of Mencetas, son of Archelaus 
at Elatea, in the first month, an agreement is made between Eubulus 
of Elatea and the city of Orchomenus. Since Eubulus has received 
from that city all the money that was due to him, according to the 
contracts made while Thynarchus was archon in the month The- 
luthius, and nothing now is owing to him from the city, but he has 
received every thing ; and those who are in possession of the con- 
tracts have returned them to the city, — it is agreed that for a given 
time, Eubulus should have the yearly right of pasturage for four cows, 
two hundred mares, twenty sheep, and a thousand she-goats. The 
beginning of this time shall be the year following* the archonship of 
Thynarchus, at Orchomenus, and Eubulus shall give an account to the 

quaestor and to the of the produce of the sheep, and goats, and 

cows, and mares ; and - - - an account 

also shall be taken of any number more than those which are written 
down in the agreement granted to him ; or ten times - - 



* A similar form of date occurs in the Corcyrean inscription, p. 415. Montf. Di. Ital. 



GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 



479 



XXI. 

From the Troad. See Dr. Hunt's Journal, p. 106. 

Temples and altars were raised in the provinces by the Greeks, not 
only to the Emperors, but also to the Governors of them. (Mem. de 
TAc. des. Ins. xviii. 455.) Even Verres in Sicily had his temples and 
annual festivals. This inscription commemorates Agrippa, and names 
him TON IIATPnNA KM ETEPrETHN; these words occur also in aCor- 
cyrean inscription published by Spon. Agrippa is styled o-vyyevtjs; the 
word applies to that relation which the inhabitants of the Troad sup- 
posed to exist between themselves and the Romans. Van Dale, Diss. 
312. " Ilienses maxime sibi glories ducebant Ro?nanos a se ortos fuisse." 

It is not difficult to determine the period of Agrippa's life to which 
the inscription refers. He went into Asia for the first time in the 
year of Rome 731, and having remained governor there ten years, he 
returned in 741. (Joseph, lib. xvi. c. 4. ; Mem. de l'Ac. des Ins. lxii. 
40.) During his residence in Asia, he remitted at the intercession of 
Herodes, to the inhabitants of Ilium, the payment of the sum of 100,000 
drachmas, a fine imposed on them as a punishment for the danger 
which, in consequence of some negligence on their part, his daughter 
Julia had incurred. She was passing by night the Scamander to go 
to Ilium ; the river had swollen suddenly, and she was with difficulty 
saved. (Nicol. Damas. in Excerp. Vales. 416.) It is probable that 
other people of the district of the Troad might on this occasion have 
expressed their gratitude to Agrippa. 

We may close our remarks on these Greek inscriptions by observ- 
ing, that the Morley marbles brought to England from Sedgikeui, 
near Smyrna, in 1732, and relating to Crato, son of Zotichus, are now 
in the vestibule of the public library at Cambridge. A copy of them 
is given by Maittaire at the end of the Mar. Oxon., and he supposes 
them to be of the date between 158 and 151 B.C. 



( 480 ) 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 

[BY MR. HAWKINS.] 

The public buildings of Athens are often mentioned in the writings 
of the ancients, but for the most part, in so cursory a way, as to 
afford us very little information about their relative position. Nor is 
it possible, I believe, to supply this deficiency without the aid of 
Pausanias. * For although it be true, that there are many passages in 
those writings, which point out the situation of two or more buildings 
in respect to each other, or their general bearing from one central 
point, the Acropolis ; yet, it is Pausanias alone, who gives us the 
arrangement of the whole, and conducts us in a regular succession 
from one object to another. 

Pausanias, therefore, (whose professed purpose it was to describe 
the antiquities of Athens,) must be regarded as our safest guide ; and 
the work of Meursius, who has collected under one point of view all 
that relates to this subject, will prove a very useful commentary on 
that author, f 



* Of the works of Heliodorus Periegetes, who gave an account of the Acropolis ; of 
Menecles or Callistratus, who described Athens; and of Philochorus, who wrote on At- 
tica, nothing remains but the citations that are given us by Suidas, Harpocration, Hesy- 
chius, Pausanias, and others. 

f There are few passages in ancient authors illustrative of the history and antiquities of 
Athens and Attica which have escaped the diligence of this critic; but those who consult 
him must exercise their own judgment in the use which they make of these materials ; in 
proof of which I need only mention, that Meursius has quoted indiscriminately the passages 
which relate to the three temples of Jupiter Olympius, and that he seems never to have 
suspected that the temple of Bacchus, which is mentioned by Pausanias, was the same as 
the temple of Bacchus in Limnis. The same want of discrimination is manifest in his 
account of the 'X28e»a. 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



481 



But even Pausanias requires every assistance which can be afforded 
by modern information, and particularly by the best plans that have 
been taken of the locality of Athens ; while on the other hand, 
these plans derive almost all their interest from the details with 
which he has filled them. How far they both agree, in all those 
points where they can be compared, or rather, with what accuracy 
they usually coincide ; will appear in the course of the following 
remarks which accompany the progress of Pausanias through Athens, 
and are written under a conviction of the necessity of pointing out 
the ill consequences of deserting such a guide. 

To render this view of the subject more clear and intelligible, it 
may be proper to give a preliminary account of the various attempts 
that have been made to lay down an accurate plan of Athens. 

The first regular plan of Athens was published in Fanelli's Atene 
Attica, about the year 1704. It appears to have been engraved from 
an actual survey made in 1687, by the engineers who were employed 
at the siege of the Acropolis. The situation of the principal ruins is 
laid down in this plan with a tolerable degree of accuracy ; and it 
has been copied with a few corrections and additions by Dr. Chandler, 
in the 2d volume of his travels, as well as by Le Roi, in his Antiqui- 
ties of Athens. 

The second was composed by Stuart, on the basis of a regular 
trigonometrical survey, made during his stay there in the years 1751, 
1752, 1753 ; but it was not published till many years after his death. 

The atlas to the travels of Anacharsis has supplied us with a 
third, constructed by Mon r . Barbie du Boccage, after the observations 
which were made on the spot by Mon r . Foucheron in 1781. 

And lastly, we have a fourth by Fauvel, published in the atlas to 
the travels of Olivier, which is by far the most accurate of all. The 
long residence of this last-mentioned gentlemen at Athens, (a period 
of seventeen years,) had enabled him not only to make the necessary 
trigonometrical observations for such a work ; but even to introduce 
most of those details which had been omitted by other topographers, 
(for instance the streets of the modern city) ; and from the examin- 

3 Q 



482 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



ation which I made of the MS. drawing of this plan when I was last at 
Athens, I have no hesitation in bearing testimony to its superior 
merit. I shall here however beg leave to observe, that although both 
Stuart and Fauvel have laid down what they conceive to be the re- 
mains of the old city walls, as far as they were able to trace them 
with any degree of precision ; yet when we consider the account 
which Thucydides gives of the hasty construction of these * walls, 
the long interval which has since elapsed, together with the various 
revolutions that have taken place, we can hardly expect to find any 
indisputable remains of them. Modern times, too, have witnessed 
a succession of walls built round the present city, the last of which 
consumed even the few remaining materials of the old ; as I had an 
opportunity of ascertaining, by a comparison of Stuart's plan with 
the ground it represented. 

In the two plans of Athens, which I have pointed out as best qua- 
lified to assist our enquiries, we shall find the relative position of 
those ancient buildings which still subsist, together with the form and 
position of the Acropolis, and the monuments of antiquity within it. 
These may be regarded as so many fixed points, by the aid of which, 
and of Pausanias, we may ascertain the names of such buildings, as 
are too mutilated and imperfect to afford any internal evidence of 
their destination ; but unfortunately, data of this description are 
wanting to ascertain the position, extent, and figure of that most 
important part of the city, the Ceramicus ; for of all the public build- 
ings which once adorned it, and which were so venerable on account 
of their antiquity, and so interesting in respect to the history of the 
arts, scarcely a vestige remains, f 



* 'H oixo5o/x/a xurd. a-TrouOrjv eysvsro hi yap SefAeAioi iruvTotw hlftiov vtcoxhvtcu, xcti 6v t-vveipycur- 
fjAvcov ectjv wj exeurroi ttote wpoue^epov ■noKXui re (rrfjAai orno (rypxTcuv xai AiSoi 

lipya.7^vjrn eyxa.Te?Jyy)<ruv. Lib. i. 

f I have used this qualified expression, because the single column of white marble which 
is marked in Stuart's plan still remains here, and is said by M. Fauvel, who has dug to its 
foundation, to be in its right place. He found two or three other columns in the same 
line with it, and is of opinion that they belonged to a Stoa or portico. 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



483 



We must have recourse therefore, in this instance, to written 
authorities alone ; and we shall find that Pausanias, with the help of 
some occasional information from other writers of antiquity, will to a 
certain extent supply the deficiency. 
\ Pausanias describes the approach to the city in two different 

directions. * After mentioning very briefly what deserved notice on 
the road from Phalerum, he speaks of the ruins of the long walls, 
(that had been rebuilt by Conon,) on the road from the Piraeus ; and 
he arrives at another gate of the city, which we can have little doubt 
must have been the Piraean. Here it is that Pausanias begins his 
description of Athens, and as this is a point of so much importance 
in respect to what follows, I shall endeavour to ascertain its true 
position. 

It is evident that the line of the northern long wall must point out 
the direction of the gate here noticed, both in respect to the Piraeus 
and the Acropolis ; and it is fortunate that so much of this wall as will 
serve to ascertain its general direction is still in existence. The 
foundations may be traced to the extent of a mile and a half along 
the modern road, and this portion of the wall is perfectly straight 
and nearly level. From the western end, which butts against a hill 
near the Piraeus, I observed that the Parthenon bore precisely over 
the eastern end of the line, the Propylaea appearing to the left of it. 
If we advance in the same direction from the eastern end of the 
wall towards the Acropolis, we shall arrive by a gradual ascent at a 
hollow between the hills of the Museum and Pnyx, which is the 
modern way from the Piraeus to the Acropolis ; and here are still 
to be seen some small vestiges of a gate and of the city-walls. We 
must therefore regard this as the Piraean gate, which in fact it is 
admitted to be by many who have published their remarks on the 
topography of Athens ; and the question next to be considered, is, in 



* The long walls having been destroyed a century before the time of Pausanias, that 
traveller probably alludes to a more direct line of road from Phalerum, otherwise he would 
scarcely have noticed two separate roads. 

3 q 2 



484 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



what new direction, Pausanias advances by the Stoae which he de- 
scribes, towards the Ceramicus. * It is in vain to attempt ascertaining 
this by any remains of the public buildings which formerly stood in 
that quarter, for, as I have already observed, they no longer exist : 
but there is one natural feature among the objects which engaged the 
attention of Pausanias beyond the Ceramicus, which may be recog- 
nised without difficulty ; I mean the fountain which he calls 
Enneacrnnos, and which Thucydides indentifies with Calliroe ; a name 
which, after a lapse of more than 2,000 years, it still retains, f A lit- 
tle way, too, farther on, in the same direction, were the remains of the 
Eleusinium, when Stuart visited Athens. These have since been 
wholly removed, and it is no small obligation which we owe to that 
traveller that he had previously measured and described them with so 
much accuracy. These objects suffice to ascertain the general bear- 
ing of the Ceramicus from the Pirsean gate, which is south-easterly, 
and in some measure, too, its extent ; but the breadth of the Cerami- 
cus, as it is limited on one side by the walls of the city, and on the 
other by the buildings immediately under the Acropolis, could not 
have exceeded one half of its length. We are not informed by Pau- 
sanias whether it extended as far as the walls, but as he notices a gate 
near the Stoa called the Poikile, and as it appears by a passage in 
iEschines $ that the Poikile was in the public square, and from 
another in Lucian, that it was in the Ceramicus, it is evident that 
the walls of the city must have been very near, if not contiguous to 



* 27o«i §e sio-iv ol-ko tmv 7tuXXwv, eg tov Keqa.jj.ei-H.6v. The Ceramicus, therefore, could not 
have been far from this point. 

f Stuart is the first who notices this very remarkable fact, and he speaks of Calliroe as a 
copious and beautiful spring which flows into the channel of the Ilissus. The Albanian 
women of Athens wash their clothes here, and the water is collected in a small circular 
bason or pit for that purpose. Near it there is a fall of several feet, in the bed of the 
Ilissus, and some perforations may be perceived in the face of the rock, which are sup- 
posed by Fauvel to be the traces of Enneacrunos. 

t In Ctesiph. — in Piscat. both quoted by Barthclemy. — The words of Lucian are, 
'EvrocvSu yug sv K.egX)j.eixZ v7rojj.evoviJ.ev uvrrp. y 8e rj'Se ttov a<pl%ercu, liruviouvct l£ AxaSjjjU.iaj, 
die iregnrxTrjo'ete xai iv Tlomlk*. 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



485 



the Ceramicus. Nor have we the means of knowing from Pausanias, 
whether the Phaleric gate opened directly into the Ceramicus, al- 
though it is not improbable that one of the gates in this quarter was 
so designated in the following passage of Philostratus, quoted by 

Meursius : nctpriX^zy tig t° Ta) v Ts^/vijiov fiov\eu]{[)iov, o coKodopiflui ttu^o. rag 

Thus much may be said in regard to the breadth, extent, and direc- 
tion of the Ceramicus, which comprised the Agora or public square. 
Pausanias, indeed, omits all mention of the latter, until he has finished 
his account of the Ceramicus (if we except those allusions to it which 
are observable in the epithet he gives to the bronze Hermes on his 
way to the Poikile) ; but as it appears from various passages of 
iEschines and of Lucian already quoted, that the Poikile Stoa was in 
the Agora as well as in the Ceramicus, we must necessarily draw the 
conclusion that the Agora likewise was in the Ceramicus. Barthe- 
lemy observes, that, according to iEschines, the Metroum was in the 
Agora, and he proves by a passage of the same author, as well as by 
the authority of Plutarch, Suidas, and Harpocration, that the palace 
of the senate, Povkevjr^tov, was there likewise. * The Hermes, or a 
Stoa so called, is moreover placed by Barthelemy in the Agora, first 
on the authority of Mnesimachus (apud Athenceum), who said in one 
of his comedies, " Go you into the Agora, to the Hermes !" and on 
that of Xenophon (de Mag. Equit.) who says, — "At certain festivals it 
is proper that the horsemen render the homage which is due to the 
temples and the statues which are in the Agora. They will com- 
mence at the Hermes, make the circuit of the Agora, and return to 
the Hermes." 

The Agora, therefore, although not expressly named by Pausanias 
in his account of the public buildings which were situated in the 
Ceramicus, must be understood as comprehended in its periphery, 
and as occupying a part of the ground which he passes over. 

The proofs already given of the Ceramicus having been situated 
to the south of the Acropolis, may be regarded as conclusive ; and I 



* JEschin. in Ctesiph. Plut. x. Rhet. Vit. t. ii. Suid. in M^gay. 



486 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



have only farther to observe, that this idea of its position coincides with 
all that we know of the early history of Athens, and the local circum- 
stances which seem to have decided the choice of the first settlers. To 
illustrate this remark, I shall quote at length the words of Thucydides 
on this subject : — " Before this period (that is, before Theseus had pre- 
vailed upon all the scattered population of the borough towns of Attica 
to remove to Athens), that which is now the citadel, and particularly 
that part which lies to the south of it, constituted what was called the 
city. This is proved, as well by the temples of the deities that are 
within the citadel as by those which are erected without it on this 
side of the city ; such as the temple of the Olympian Jupiter, and the 
Pythium ; the temple of Terra, and that of Bacchus in Limnis, in 
honour of whom the more ancient Bacchanalian festivals are celebrated 
on the twelfth day of the month Anthesterion ; which custom is still 
retained by the Ionians of Attic descent. Other ancient temples are 
built in the same quarter. The public fountain too, which, since it 
has been fitted up * in the manner we now see by the tyrants, has 
been called Enneacrunos, but which formerly, when the springs were 
open, bore the name of Callirroe, being situated near, was preferred 
for use upon most occasions. And even now, in compliance with 
ancient custom, they think it necessary to make use of this water pre- 
vious to the connubial rites, and upon other religious occasions. And 
further, it is owing to this their ancient residence in the Acropolis, 
that it is called the city by the Athenians to this very day." 

Now, the temple of the Olympian Jupiter, which is here noticed 
by Thucydides, must have been that which Pausanias says was built 
by Deucalion, and which appears from his narrative to have stood 
somewhere near, if not absolutely within the peribolus of Hadrian's 
Olympium. An image, too, of the Pythian Apollo is noticed by 
Pausanias in the same quarter, although the temple itself seems to 
have no longer existed ; and the Temple of Terra (rN?) I suspect to be 



* *Out« x.aTot<j-xzva.<Ta.vTwv, conjectura Dukeri ex Hesychio prolata et tribus Codd. Pariss. 
confirmata. 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 487 

the same as that which Pausanias denominates the temple of F» 
Kov^or^opog and A'^^? yX^ *j an d places under the southern flanks of 
the Acropolis, between which and the Olympium, if we follow the 
order of his description, he fixes the position of the temple of Bacchus 
in Limnis. By the other ancient temples which stood in the same 
quarter, Thucydides must have meant several more of those which are 
placed by Pausanias on the south of the theatre, or in the Ceramicus ; 
for instance, the Metroum, the temple of Venus Urania, &c. as well 
as the Leocorium, the iEaconteum, and others, which he does not 
notice, f 

Having now proved both from the text of Pausanias, and other his- 
torical evidence, compared with existing monuments and local cir- 
cumstances, that the interior Ceramicus was on the south side of the 
Acropolis, it follows that Barthelemy and other writers are mistaken 
in placing it on the north side, on the authority of a single passage in 
Plutarch's Life of Sylla ; and it is unfortunate that this mistake has led 
the former to misplace almost every monument of antiquity in his 
plan of Athens |, and involuntarily to mislead his readers. But as 
the reputation of such a man as Barthelemy is not to be impeached 
upon light grounds, or without a hearing, and the authority upon 
which he relies is very specious, I shall devote some time to its 
examination. 

The passage to which I allude is as follows : — After describing the 
slaughter which took place when Athens was taken by assault, Plu- 
tarch adds, " for besides those who fell in other parts of the city, 
the blood which was shed in the Agora alone covered the whole Cera- 



* Kougorgo<po; Ty. Suidas. But Tenet, and AripjVyjg were originally the same, " Nec sine 
causa Terrain eandem appellabant matrem, et Cererem." Varro. 

f The Leocorium is placed on the authority of Demosthenes in the Ceramicus ; Demosth. 
in Conon : — and the Temple of iEacus, on that of Herodotus ; Lib. v. c. 89. 

1 Barthelemy, in acknowledging his obligations for the able assistance of M. Barbie de 
Boccage, takes upon himself the whole responsibility for these errors : — " Comme nous 
differons sur quelques points principaux de Pinterieur, il ne doit pas repondre des erreurs 
qu'on trouvera dans cette partie du plan." 



488 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



micus as far as Dipylon ; nay, there are several who assure us, that it 
ran through the gates and overspread the suburbs." Now, the 
position of the gate here mentioned is ascertained by the following 
passage in Livy : — " Ab Dipylo accessit. Porta ea, velut in ore urbis 
posita, major aliquanto patentiorque quam ceterce, est; et intra earn ex- 
traque latce sunt vice, ut et oppidani dirigere aciem a foro ad portam 
possent : et extra limes mille ferme passus, in Academice Gymnasium 
ferens, pediti equitique hostium liberum spatium prcebereV Lib. xxxi. 
c. 24. And its vicinity to the Academy is confirmed by the testimony 
of Cicero: — " Sex ilia a Dipylo stadia in Academiam confecimus" 

The gate, therefore, called Dipylon, must have stood on the north 
or the north-west side of the Acropolis, for it was in this direction 
that the Academy was situated. And there is a gate of the modern 
city in the same quarter, which leads to a spot still distinguished by 
the name of Kathymia, * or Akathymia. 



* The following extract from my Journal, Nov. 1794, relates to this curious fact: — 
" The weather being dry and cool in consequence of the north-easterly wind, we took 
a walk this evening to a spot about one mile north from the city walls, which, from the 
circumstance of its being called KkaI^iu (Acathymia) by the peasants of Attica, must 
have been without doubt the scite of the celebrated Academy. It is situated near two little 
hills or rather knolls of ground, one called "Ayioj M«A»«vo?, and the other "Ayioj NucoAaoj, 
from two chapels which stand on them. 

" All antiquaries have agreed in placing the academy on this side of the city, and at 
this distance from it; but as there existed no remains of the buildings which once adorned 
it, its position was not known with any degree of certainty ; for the present Athenians are 
too ignorant of their own history, and too inattentive to the researches of curious travellers, 
to have been struck with this coincidence between the ancient and the modern name of this 
interesting spot. 

" It was a mere accident which threw it in my way, and led to the discovery; for 
M. Fauvel appears to have been ignorant of it. 

" The Consul (Procopius) not being thoroughly acquainted with the topography of the 
plain, we enquired of several peasants whom we met the position of the spot called 
Akathymia, and were thus enabled to ascertain it with more precision. 

" It is rather extraordinary that the spot should still be distinguished by any particular 
name, since it is now an open piece of ground, and presents nothing remarkable in its 
appearance. The name is confined to an area not exceeding five acres in the lowest and 
most stagnant part of the plain. The soil here is a stiff loam, which being nuturally too 
tenacious of moisture, has been improved by drainage. A few scattered olive trees 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



489 



Unfortunately, however, for the credit of Plutarch*, on whose 
authority so much reliance is placed, the rise of the ground on this 
side of the Acropolis, towards the spot where this gate stood, points 
out very clearly the impossibility of the occurrence which he 
mentions. 

This alone would lead us to suspect that the Dipylon had been 
substituted by mistake for some other gate which lay more to the 
south; and there is a story told by the same writer in his Moralia, 
which countenances this supposition. He is treating of the following 
question, — Which have the most natural sagacity, land or water 
animals? " When Pericles," says he, " built the Hecatompedon in the 
Acropolis of Athens, it so fell out, that the stones were to be fetched, 
every day, the distance of many stadia ; and a number of carriages 
were made use of for that purpose. Among the rest of the mules 
that laboured hard in this employment, there was one that, although 
dismissed on account of age, would still go down to the Ceramicus, 
and meeting the carts that brought the stones, would be always in 
their company, running by their sides, as it were by way of en- 



grew on it, and some paces farther west we saw a number of gardens and vineyards which 
contained fruit-trees of a more exuberant growth than in any other part of the plain. 
These gardens, in fact, chiefly supply the market of Athens with fruit and vegetables, and 
they are distinguished by their superior verdure from several distant points of view. This 
is attributed to the moisture of the soil here, from which cause the air is said to be very un- 
wholesome in the summer months. The air of the Academy is recorded to have been of 
this description, and Plato on that account was advised to remove from it." 

* The passage is given by Meursius : — ' Autos is 2u Wctg to peTugv t>jc TLetpouxris ttuAijc xai 

TTjg ' Irpaj xoncarxx^ictc xct\ <ruvo[ta.\6voi; o wepi t»jv ayopav po'voc s-xkayz TravTa tov iyto; 

tov AiavAou Ksj«|x=ixo'v. The gate, 'lego, or Sacred, was probably no other than the gate 
Dipylon (see a subsequent part of this enquiry). If some word, toov Hf iWfor instance, could 
be substituted in the room of Tspar, referring to the gates, called Hplxi by the Etymolog., 
and probably near the Pireean, there would be little difficulty in the passage of Plutarch. 
The fall of the ground here would have permitted the blood to have flowed in this direc- 
tion, supposing the fact stated by Plutarch to have literally happened, and not to have 
been an exaggeration. The slight alteration also of rmv Suo nuXoov (referring to the two 
gates just mentioned), for tou A(7tuAou, would contribute to establish the writer's con- 
sistency. 

3 R 



490 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



couragement, and to excite them to work cheerfully," &c. &c* Now 
it is highly improbable, that the road which leads to the Propylaea 
from the northern part of the city, and which is naturally so much 
more steep and difficult, should have been made use of for this 
purpose ; the Ceramicus, therefore, which is here spoken of, could 
not have been on the north side of the Acropolis, but on the south ; 
where the ascent in fact is very gradual and wide. 

Having made the tour of the Ceramicus, which, in every point of 
view, first deserved the notice of an antiquary, and having led us 
back to the point where he began it, Pausanias proceeds to describe 
the remainder of the city, before he visits the Acropolis. 

I have had occasion to remark, that Pausanias has in no part of his 
description of the Ceramicus expressly mentioned the Agora. He 
now however conducts us to one, which from its contiguity to other 
buildings which stood there, viz. the Gymnasium of Ptolemy and 
the Theseum, appears to have been situated on the north of the 
Acropolis. The position of this Agora in the plan of Athens is 
ascertained by a Doric portal, which both from its plan and pro- 
portions, and an edict of the Emperor Hadrian regulating the price 
of oil, inscribed on the jamb of a door-case which forms a part of the 
original structure, is supposed to have been the entrance into it. 

This, I think, must be the same Agora that is incidentally mentioned 
by Strabo, in the account which he gives of Eretria : — E^r^eag <T ol 
yAv alto Mazig-iS Trig Tpt(bv\iotg a,7roiKi(r$vivoii (pu<riv V7T 'Eperp;e&>£' ft FoiTro Trig 
ABrjvvcnv Epe7p/«f, y vvv Ig-iv dyo^oc. And it is not improbable that it had 
been removed from the Ceramicus, where it had been polluted with 
the blood of so many citizens, to a part of the city which was at 
this period in every respect more central and convenient for it ; and 
where it is remarkable that the market of the modern Athenians still 
continues to be held at the present day. 

From this Agora, which, on the authority of Strabo, I shall call 
the new one, and which Pausanias seems to have noticed, merely on 



* This story is repeated in the life of Cato ; it is related also by ./Elian. 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 491 

account of the altar of pity which was in it, we pass on to the 
Gymnasium of Ptolemy, which he tells us was not far distant. The 
situation of this building is determined by some actual remains of it 
which were found by Stuart, compared with an inscription which had 
been removed from thence, recording the dedication of a statue to 
Ptolemy the son of Juba. Farther proofs of this appropriation have 
since been discovered by Fauvel and others, in the plan and dimensions 
of the building. 

In the same direction, too, ?rpoV <5e ra yvpvoto-tu, was the temple of 
Theseus, upon which Pausanias dwells with pleasure. There can be 
little doubt, that this is the fine temple which is still in existence on 
the N. W. of the Acropolis, both on account of its vicinity to the 
preceding building, and the subjects of some of the sculptures on it. 
It is true, that Pausanias omits all mention of a v«og, calling the 
building simply U$ov and 0-^0? ; but this is not unusual with him, nor 
is he very consistent with himself in the use of any of the terms 
which he applies to temples * ; besides, the pictures of Micon which 
he here notices, imply the existence of a Naos, on the walls of which 
they must have been painted. " Why," (to borrow the words of 



* The following, however, is an instance of his discrimination : — Tepevog xu) Ugbv x«i 
vxbv 'Agrees* olxoSopja-aTo. Lib. v. c. 6. — My readers will be glad to see how these terms 
are explained in Lenneps' Etymologicum Linguse Graecas : — 

" Naoj sive Newf, 

commode Hesychius interpretatur olxoj, ev&x Sebg wgoaxweiTcu. - -- -- -- -- - Tegov 

autem et vxbc, sive vsoag, quando connectuntur, veluti apud Thucyd. lib. iv. § 90. ; nep) to 
Uqov xaV tov vecav (ubi plura notavit Dukerus) ita distingui debent, ut legov significet to 
tIju-svo; sive totam aream deo consecratam, humanisque usibus exemptam, to Ugbv yjxglov : 
veto; vero ipsum fanum vel templi sedificium. Tegov autem intelligendum relinquit owju.a, et 
saepius adsciscit xyiov, &c. &c. 

2i»)X0V, 

Porro <njxov in templis deorum eximie dictam fuisse cellam, in 

qua dei sedes esset, quae pp. etiam vaoj vocaretur, observavit cel. Valck. ad Herodoti, 

lib. vi. 338. p. 446. Proprie va.li & !sg« sunt deorum ; hei-oum <njxol, ut decuit 

Pollux, lib.i. segm. 6. Ammonius et Thomas Magister in voce. Earn difFerentiam, etsi 
plerumque negligatur, saspe tamen observavit Pausanias." Conf. omnino cl. D'Arnaud, 
Animadv. Graec. p. ] — 3. 

3r2 



492 oN THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 

Stuart) " the labours of Hercules should make so considerable a part 
of the ornaments of this temple will appear the less extraordinary, 
when we recollect the respect and gratitude which Theseus professed 
towards that hero, who was his kinsman ; had delivered him from a 
tedious captivity, and had restored him to his country ; on his return 
to which, he consecrated to Hercules all the places that the gratitude 
of his citizens had formerly dedicated to himself, four only excepted; 
and changed their names from Thesea to Heraclea. V. Plut. in vit. 
Thes. Nor could it be esteemed a slight compliment to Theseus, 
when on building this temple to his honour, their labours were thus 
placed together." * 

We are now led back by Pausanias to the foot of the Acropolis, 
where he places the Anaceum or ancient temple of the f Dioscuri ; 
and just above this temple he places the second enclosure, Tepevog, of 
Aglaurus. Here it appears from what he says, that the rock was very 
precipitous, evBu wy ^d.Xtg-a, oltt'oto^ov^ although it was here that the 
Persians had scaled the Acropolis. The passage of Herodotus which 
relates to this exploit, speaks not of a Tepevog, but of a temple, *epo\, of 
Agraulus, leaving us in doubt, however, whether it was above or below 
the declivity, or whether it was within or without the Acropolis ; and 
although it was evidently the intention of that writer to point out 
with some degree of precision the situation of this temple, and the 
spot where the Persians ascended, yet there is an ambiguity in the 
expression which has given rise to two very opposite and contradictory 
explanations, the words onta-Bev oe ™ -nvXtuv, xou t^V a\o7y, being 
supposed by Chandler, Larcher, Barthelemy, and others, who are 
supported by the authority of Ulpian, to refer to the vicinity of the 
entrance ; while a more recent critic, Mr. Wilkins, is of opinion, that 
they apply to the other end of the Acropolis. 



* Mcursius seems to be of opinion that there were several temples dedicated to Theseus, 
but all the passages which he quotes evidently refer to one and the same temple. 

f Lucian alludes in Timone to the destruction of this temple by lightning: — 'O Ss 
xega'jvof eij to bvuxeiov 7ra£a<7x>j^aj, inslvo ts xaTe^Asjje. 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



493 



Whatever may be the decision of grammarians in regard to the 
literal meaning of this expression of Herodotus, it is certain that the 
latter interpretation of it is more consistent than the former with the 
general sense of the passage ; for how, when the army of Xerxes is 
stated to be encamped directly in front of the entrance to the Acropolis, 
and so near it as the Areopagus, could this end of the citadel be 
supposed to be so negligently guarded as to be taken by surprise in 
the way here described ? 

We may be allowed therefore to place that part of the precipice, 
by which the Persians ascended, at the eastern end of the platform of 
the Acropolis, where in fact Pausanias evidently understood it to have 
been ; the Prytaneum, which he says, was not far from it, being un- 
questionably on this side of the hill. It follows, that what Herodotus 
says of a temple, 'Upov of Aglaurus, must be applied to the Ttphog of 
that personage, which Pausanias places on the eastern declivity of 
the hill. 

We come next to the Prytaneum, which was hard by, ttXhtiov h 
U^vTuvBtov eg-n; and on the lower slope of the hill ; for according to 
Pausanias, you passed from hence into the lower part of the city, 
evrev^ev icvcriv eg to, Kara rr,q ttoXbuc, to the temple of Serapis; near which, 
he adds, was the temple of Ilythya.* All this is perfectly consistent 
with the natural form of the ground on the eastern side of the 
Acropolis, where the soil, as I was informed, had accumulated to the 
depth of 18 feet. 

The two last-mentioned temples must have been in the way from 
the Prytaneum towards the Olympium, to which we are now con- 
ducted. Here Pausanias seems not to distinguish between an 'Iepoi* 
and a N»oc, for he applies both terms to this temple. Within its 
peribolus, he says, were a temple of Saturn and Rhea, and a Te^cvog 
of this goddess, who is styled Olympia. All the particulars which 
he, as well as Vitruvius, give us of this temple, impress us with a 



* Vide the distinction which Pausanias makes between this goddess and Latona. 



494 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



high idea of its magnificence. We have little difficulty therefore in 
appropriating to the Olympium those gigantic columns of the 
Corinthian order, which attract the notice of travellers on the south- 
eastern side of the Acropolis.* But as this opinion is contested, I 
shall briefly recapitulate the arguments upon which it is founded. 

In the first place, the Peribolus of this temple agrees very nearly with 
the dimensions which are assigned by Pausanias, to the Peribolus of 
the Olympium. 

Secondly, it is of the Corinthian order ; which Vitruvius states the 
Olympium to have been, and as it was an hypsethral temple, with 
ten columns in each front, and a double row on each flank, it is 
very probably the same to which that author alludes in a very obscure, 
if not corrupt passage of his third book, f 

Thirdly, the number and magnitude of the columns which must 
have belonged to this temple when entire, fully correspond with the 
notion that Vitruvius gives of its magnificence, and it would be 



* These columns (of which 124 once surrounded the cell) are six feet in diameter and 
nearly sixty feet high. Vitruvius speaks of this temple in the following terms : — " Id autem 
opus non modo vulgo, sed etiam in paucis a magnificentia nominatur." And afterwards 
he proceeds, — " In Asty vero Olympium amplo modulorum comparatu, Corinthiis syme- 
triis et proportionibus (uti supra scriptum est) architectandum Cossutius suscepisse 
memoratur." It is spoken of in the same terms of admiration by Livy : — " Magnificentiae 
vero in deos vel Jovis Olympii templum Athenis, unum in terris inchoatum pro magnitu- 
dine dei, potest testis esse." 

f Vitruvius in his third book, where he speaks of hypsethral temples, observes, that 
they had ten columns in each front, and a double row of columns in each flank, with other 
particulars, concluding what he had to say upon the subject of hypsethral temples, with 
the following remark : — " Hujus autem exemplar Romae non est, sed Athenis octastylos, 
et in templo Olympic" Ed. Schneider!. Here the allusion to an octastyle temple seems 
to be perfectly inconsistent with what precedes it, and therefore cannot have been originally 
intended by Vitruvius. It is evident that he alludes to some example of what he had been 
speaking of, and as he makes use of the expression Olympio, it is probable that he means 
the Olympium at Athens. But the difficulty lies in the word octastylos, and the MSS. 
afford us no ground for supposing it to be a corruption. We must therefore condemn it 
upon other grounds of criticism, and as the word contains the elements of its own cor- 
rection, adopt Mr. Wilkins's ingenious conjecture by substituting in asty, which at once 
gives it sense and consistency. 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



495 



absurd to appropriate them to any other building which Pausanias 
has mentioned. * 

Fourthly, the situation of this temple is near the fountain of 
Enneacrunos or Calliroe, where some old authors have placed f it ; 
and there is reason to believe, from what Pausanias relates of the 
older temple built by Deucalion, that it occupies the same site as that, 
which we know from the passage of Thucydides already quoted to 
have been on this side of the Acropolis. 

I am of opinion, that much of the obscurity which has hitherto 
attended this enquiry will be removed, if I add something on the 
history of this temple. 

There were undoubtedly three temples erected at Athens to the 
Olympian Jupiter, at three very distinct and remote seras. 

The first was built by Deucalion. 

The second was begun by Pisistratus, and continued by his sons, 
but left unfinished. 

The third, or the temple of which we see the remains, was begun 
by Perseus, or Antiochus Epiphanes, continued by the kings in 
alliance with Augustus, and completed by Hadrian. The first was 
probably a building of a very rude construction ; the second, a Doric 
temple ; the third, was Corinthian and hypasthral. 

The participation of the sons of Pisistratus in the erection of the 
second temple, is intimated in a passage of the Politics of Aristotle 
(v. 11.), aoa tov 'OAd^tt/ou jj oiKodopying vtto Uuri<rrpcx,Ti^uv, and the ex- 
pression of Dicsearchus, ^OXu^Tnov yptreXec,) J shows that it was left 
unfinished. The following passage in the ninth book of Strabo, ««< 

CiVTO TO 'OXVfATTlOV, 07T£p Vj[AlTS\6£ XCiTsXf7T£ TtXiVTUV (X.VO&i)s (3a<riXsUC } SLS it 

evidently relates to the third temple, has been restored to its 
original reading by the learned and ingenious editors of the French 



* For instance, to the Pantheon, which has the best claim. 

f Taouvrlvo; 8= ifopsi tov t« Ajoj vscov xaWxi=u«£ovTS« 'ASrjvaiHj 'Evveaxgs've nXrjarlov, &C. 
Hierocles in Procemio Hippiatricorum. 
t Vide B. E. 



496 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



Strabo, who substitute 'Aj/t/o^ for dvaQsig. The next great effort to 
finish this structure, is recorded in the followingpassage of Suetonius: — 
Aug. " Cuncti {reges amid et socii) simul cedem Jovis Olympii Athenis 
antiquitus inchoatam perficere communi sumptu destinaverunt ; Genioque 
ejus dedicare" But it was reserved for Hadrian to put the finishing 
hand to this magnificent pile of building. 

Pausanias takes the opportunity in this place of mentioning what 
other public buildings had been erected by that Emperor at Athens. 
After which, he continues his excursion eastward, noticing, first, the 
statue of Apollo Pythius, which appears to have stood in some con- 
secrated building, 'hpov ; for immediately afterwards, he observes, tg-i 
tea) oitXKo Itpov A7roXXcovog ttiitkuciv AeXfiiviov, implying the existence of 
two temples ; the former of which being then perhaps in a ruinous 
state or absolutely destroyed, is not named. This interpretation of 
the passage is, I think, supported by Thucydides, who, among the 
temples enumerated on the south side of the Acropolis, mentions the 
Pythium ; and still more so by Strabo, who tells us that it was near 
the Olympium. Of these two temples of Apollo, as well as that of 
Venus in the gardens ; the temple of Hercules called Cynosarges ; 
the Lyceum, &c. ; all which lay in the direction which Pausanias is 
now taking, and attracted his notice ; no remains are now extant. 

Pausanias then comes to the Ilissus, which he crosses, and arrives 
at the district called Agrae, where he notices the temple of Diana 
Agrotera ; finishing this excursion with some account of the Stadium 
of Herodes Atticus ; the site of which, now correctly ascertained by 
modern travellers, confirms the idea of Pausanias's general accuracy. 
Nor is the consistency of his narrative less apparent, in the circum- 
stance of his returning at once to the Prytaneum, without mentioning 
either the Olympium, the Eleusinium, or Enneacrunos, which lay in 
his way, or near it, but had already been noticed. 

Pausanias now starts again from the Prytaneum, which had been 
fixed by his narrative at the eastern base of the Acropolis hill. The 
street of the Tripods, he says, commences from this building ; the 
same denomination being given to the quarter of the city, (ro^wp/oi/,) 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



497 



in which it stood. Of this street, one vestige only remains, the 
choragic monument of Lysicrates ; the position of which, both with 
respect to the Acropolis and the Olympium, enables us to fix retro- 
spectively with still more precision the site of the Prytaneum, which as 
he is now advancing towards the theatre he has left to the north. 

Before his arrival at the theatre, however, Pausanias speaks of a 
temple of Bacchus of the highest antiquity, which seems to have 
been in his way towards it. This, without doubt, is the temple of 
Bacchus in Limnis, mentioned by Thucydides among those very 
ancient buildings which stood on the south-side of the Acropolis. 
Few of the temples at Athens have been oftener alluded to by ancient 
writers. The epithet evidently implies a low or marshy situation, and 
as there is no ground of this description in the present city, or even 
adjacent to it, the temple here mentioned by Pausanias has been 
generally supposed to be distinct from that of Bacchus in Limnis. 
There is, however, sufficient evidence of their identity. First, in the 
position assigned by Pausanias, which is in reality the lowest part of 
the city, and secondly, in some springs of brackish water, which, rising 
at the northern base of the Acropolis, and of the hill of the Areopagus, 
naturally flow in this direction ; nor is it surprising, as the level of 
the ground in most parts of the city has been raised from 10 to 18 
feet, that all traces of this marshy spot should have been obliterated. 

After noticing the edifice in the form of Xerxes's tent, which stood 
between this temple and the theatre, and to which I shall presently 
have occasion to recur, Pausanias conducts us to the latter, the situ- 
ation of which he points out with great precision ; for we learn that 
it stood at the foot of the rock, on the southern side of the Acropolis, 
and that there was a grotto or cavern immediately above it. Nothing 
now remains of the theatre but the cavea ; but this is exactly in the 
position here described, a grotto occurring just above it, faced with 
marble pilasters that support an entablature, on which are some 
inscriptions, proving it to have been a choragic monument. Above 
this entablature is a statue of marble and two columns, on each of 
which are the marks of the feet of a tripod, and this may be regarded 

3 s 



498 0N THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 

as a farther confirmation of the accuracy of Pausanias, who notices a 
tripod over the grotto and some statues. 

Dicaearchus, too, speaks of the theatre in this position ; o KotXoupsvog 
notj&vjav v7rs(>xs!fJt.evos rov QsuTgou, and both the Theatre and the Parthe- 
non are represented on a bronze medal of Athens, in the same 
situation with respect to each other. In short, I believe it would be 
difficult to produce a more connected chain of topographical evidence 
than that which confirms and illustrates this part of Pausanias's nar- 
rative. 

I shall now return to the building which has been previously men- 
tioned, but without any denomination. On the authority of Plutarch 
and Suidas, as well as of a false reading of Jocundus in his edition of 
Vitruvius, this building has been generally supposed to be the Odeum 
of Pericles ; but it is in reality the Odeum of Themistocles, as appears 
by the restoration of the text in the new and excellent edition of that 
author by Schneider : — " Et exeuntibus e theatro sinistra parte Odeum, 
quod Themistocles columnis lapideis navium malis et antennis e spoliis 
Persicis pertexit, idem autem incensum Mithridatico bello rex Ariobar- 
zanes restituit." Lib. v. cap. 9. * 

The Odeum of Pericles, therefore, can be no other than that 
which is noticed by Pausanias in his excursion through the 
Ceramicus, and near Enneacrunos, in the following words : — ToZ 
Srnd.T(so\j $e o KccXova-tv, uhTov ; and by Suidas more particularly, ilhiov 
A3rjv^(riv 'dcntiQ Bbutpov, o ■n'STro^KSv, dog (poL<ri f ne^ucX'/jg sig to e-rt&£iKM(r3cx.( 
Tcvg povtrntovg. hoi touto yo&() v.ou uSeTov ex\yj&v] oltto rqg afiqg, eg~t <5e sv avru 

£:zocg~rioicv rov " Ap^ovTog. Stef/LtTgetro SI %ot\ uX(f)iTa. exei. Demosthenes in- 
forms us, that it served not only for musical contests, but for assem- 
blies of the people. Plutarch, however, appears to have confounded 



* This is the same building to which Appian alludes in the following words : Kai 
AgirtfJ" «uto(j <r'jve$euyev l;x7rp>]Vas to ildeiov, Hm fJ.rj eTolfj.ots %vXoi$ aVTixct 6 ^vWct; ep^o* tijv 
«x^7roXiv Ivo^Aelv. He adds, that Sylla permitted his soldiers to sack the city, but not to 
burn it. In the passage of Pausanias, 7roi>j^v«» 8e <r. ; — tDojvijj is probably the true 
reading. 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



499 



this with the other Odeum, for he tells us that in point of form it 
resembled the tent of Xerxes. 

From the theatre Pausanias conducts us to the entrance of the 
Acropolis, which is about due west. On his way thither, which skirts 
along the foot of the rock, he notices the sepulchre of Kalos, and then 
the temple of iEsculapius, in which there was a spring of water, which 
arfords occasion to speak of Halirrothius, the whole story respecting 
whom, like that which he had before related of the origin of the term 
Ceramicus, shows how much the Greeks were accustomed to disguise 
and ennoble the most trivial circumstances. * Farther on was a temple 
of Themis the sepulchre of Hippolytus, and lastly, the temple which 
was appropriated to Tellus Curotrophus and Ceres Chloe, which are 
unquestionably different appellations of the same deity. And here 
it is, at the western end of the Acropolis, that Pausanias finishes his 
perambulation of the city : ag-v. In the course of his narrative there 
appears to be both method and selection, and we may observe that he 
carefully avoids any recurrence to the objects he had already noticed ; 
tor instance, he finishes his second excursion at the stadium, and in 
his way from the theatre, although the Ceramicus must have been 
pretty close on his left, he notices no one building which appertains 
to it ; confining his observation to those which stood on a higher 
level, or nearer the foot of the rock, and passing over the spot, on 
which, soon afterwards, was erected the theatre of Regilla, which he 
notices when speaking of the Odeum at Patrse. 

Having accompanied Pausanias thus far in his perambulation, we 
shall not follow him into the Acropolis, because there is no difficulty 
in recognizing in the remains which are extant there, almost every 
one of the public buildings which he describes. It is in this part of 
his narrative, however, that he incidentally mentions the hill of the 



* Such as a spring of brackish water and a place for the manufactory of tiles. Pausa- 
nias mentions a spring within the sacred enclosure ; we may conclude it was not potable, 
from the nature of the two springs on the opposite side of the Acropolis, and the silence 
both of Pausanias and Strabo, when they speak of Enneacrunos. The true and ignoble 
origin of the term Ceramicus is given by Pliny, lib. xxxv. c. 12. Suidas in Ksgaju,. 

3 s 2 



500 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



Museum, on which was the monument to a certain Syrian (Philopap- 
pus), which still crowns the summit of a hill at no great distance from 
the Propylaea, on the south-west. This hill, too, he says, was within 
the old walls of the city, Ivrog rod 7rs^il3oXis aWa/y, which is literally 
true in respect to the building here spoken of, the foundations of the 
old walls forming an angle on the summit of the hill, and en- 
closing it. 

On his return from the Propylaea, Pausanias points out a few more 
objects of curiosity on this side, before his final departure. Of these, 
the first in order is a grotto consecrated to Apollo and Pan, which 
was situated a little below the Propylaea, and near to a spring of 
water. Here, precisely in the situation pointed out by Pausanias, a 
grotto and a spring of brackish water are still observable ; and a re- 
presentation of the former, with all the circumstances which are 
requisite to fix its identity, may be seen on a bronze medal of Athens, 
which is engraved in the Atlas to the Anacharsis. 

Pausanias next conducts us to the Areopagus, which was in the 
vicinity of the Propylaea, and there is a rocky eminence just opposite 
to that object, which, although no vestiges of a building are observ- 
able on it, is generally supposed to have been the site of this venerable 
tribunal. But there is a passage in the Bis Accus. of Lucian *, which, 
as it fixes its position with respect to the cave of Pan, the Propylaea, 
and Pnyx, and notices the ascent to it, removes nearly all doubt of its 
situation. It is remarkable, that Pausanias makes no mention of 
Pnyx ; but his silence may, I think, be accounted for, as Pnyx had 
long ceased to be the place of assembly at the period when he visited 
Athens, the Romans having then nearly abolished the forms of an in- 
dependent government, f Nor is it probable that any thing in the 

* The passage is rather too long for insertion ; but a part of it, which more particularly 
regards the cave of Pan, has been already quoted. The ascent to the Areopagus is 
noticed in that speech of Pan, which begins with the words, B«/3«i tov Sogvfiov. 

f The complaint of Athenion (vide Athenaeum, lib. v.) closes with the words, xal njv 
$ewv ^^rjcr/xolj xu^M<rtu)^evYjv Hvvku, aipyjgy^evyjv tov A^fis. According to Pollux and Hesy- 
chius, it continued to be made use of only when certain magistrates were to be elected. 
The pulpitum looks towards the city. 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



501 



shape of a public building had ever existed here, for Aristophanes 
speaks of the people, when assembled, as seating themselves on a 
rock. There is a circumstance, however, mentioned in Plutarch's 
Life of Themistocles, which helps us to fix its situation, for he tells 
us it commanded a view of the sea. Now, there is a rocky eminence 
between the last-mentioned spot and the Museum, which answers to 
this description, and I know of no other within the old walls that does. 
The surface of the rock is there cut into a form which appears to be 
not ill calculated for the purpose to which Pnyx was appropriated. 
According to Plutarch, Pnyx must have been near the Museum, for 
he speaks of the hottest part of the combat of Theseus with the 
Amazons as having taken place between these two places ; and Pnyx 
appears to have given its denomination to a quarter of the city, 
X^ ov s (vide Pollux,) which was inhabited, for Cimon dwelt there. 
Moreover, it was bounded by the city wall, for Suidas, in Meruv, says, 
Tlgo nv%o$w()}£ 3e 7iXiot^07Tiov vjv ev rv vvv vcvi eJCJtA7j<r/c4 7r^og rep ret^ei ra ev 
Uyvx(- and the scholiast on Aristophanes (in Avibus) tells us, on the 
authority of Philochorus, 'HXioT^o-n-iov Metonis extare -rr^cg ru> tux^ ru 
ev rri TlvvKi. (Sal mas.) Enough, I believe, has been said, to fix the site 
of the Areopagus, Pnyx, and the Museum. The Pirasan gate, as I 
have already mentioned, lay between the two last. 

We are now arrived at the end of the topography of Athens, as it 
is given us by Pausanias ; and in the course of these remarks, I have 
endeavoured to explain that topography by the help of the existing 
remains ; but, as the progress of the narrative has been much in- 
terrupted, it may be useful to pass once more under review the whole 
series of positions that have been fixed by this enquiry. 

The first point thus fixed, with reference to the plan of the ruins, 
is the Piraean gate ; where Pausanias begins his description of the 
city. By the second, which was Enneacrunos and the Eleusinium, 
we obtained the general direction of the Ceramicus on the right, or 
to the south of the Acropolis, and thus acquired some idea of its 
extent. The third fixed point, is the situation of the new Agora ; 
which is determined both by the order of the narrative, and by the 



502 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



remains of the Doric portal, which forms the entrance to it. The 
Gymnasium of Ptolemy and the Theseum are the two next. The 
situation of the Temenos of Aglaurus on the eastern declivity of the 
Acropolis, which I have taken some pains to ascertain, determines 
pretty nearly that of the Anaceum and the Prytaneum, as well as the 
site of the temple of Ilithya ; all which are fixed with still more pre- 
cision by the positions of the Olympium and the theatre ; the last, 
and perhaps the least equivocal points in the topography of Athens. 

Having thus established the claims of Pausanias to the merit of 
veracity and correctness, I shall beg leave to make some remarks on 
the method which is observable in his description of the antiquities of 
Athens, and on his omissions. 

Proceeding directly from the Piraeus in the direction of the northern 
long wall, Pausanias enters by the gate which was nearest to the 
Acropolis, when, turning to the right, he soon reaches the most 
ancient, most important, and most frequented part of the city, the 
Ceramicus. After making the tour of this quarter, and noticing some 
objects beyond it, he returns to the spot where he began, for the 
purpose, as it would appear, of mentioning a few buildings which he 
had omitted ; and from thence he proceeds with the Pirasan gate on 
his left, to the north. His course however, on this side of the 
Acropolis, is more desultory; for when he has noticed the new Agora, 
(incidentally,) the Gymnasium of Ptolemy, and the Theseum, which 
two last lead him far to the left, he turns suddenly round, and 
retraces his steps towards the Acropolis, for the purpose of visiting 
the Anaceum, the sacred portion of Aglaurus and the Prytaneum. 
From hence, he continues his course easterly to the temples of 
Serapis and Ilithya, the Olympium, the Delphinium, the temple of 
Venus in the gardens, Cynosarges, the Lyceum, the Uissus, and the 
Stadium, where, in a direction about due south from the Prytaneum, 
he finishes his second excursion. 

He starts again from the Prytaneum to commence his third 
excursion ; and at first proceeds due south along the street of the 
Tripods; from whence he turns to the right, and approaches the 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



503 



eastern base of the hill of the Acropolis; describing some very 
remarkable edifices in this quarter, (the quarter of the Tripods ; 
dtp ov Je zuXova-i to %&p/o^,) and then continues his march round the 
upper slope of the hill, until he reaches the entrance of the Acropolis ; 
without touching the line of his first excursion through the Ceramicus, 
which was on his left. It is proper to remark, that the term ex- 
cursion which I have here made use of, cannot be applied in a literal 
sense, because Pausanias merely describes what objects were to be 
seen, without expressly mentioning that he had visited them. 

Before Pausanias begins his account of Sparta, he thinks it 
necessary to observe, that he should follow the same rule as he had 
laid down in his description of Attica ; not to describe every object 
that occurred without distinction ; but to select what best deserved 
notice. 

We may collect from this observation, that he had passed over a 
number of objects unnoticed in his description of Athens; but not 
without motives for such an omission. 

Meursius has collected with much learning and industry, all that 
has been said by ancient writers on the subject of the public buildings 
which are thus omitted. Of these, many were no longer in existence 
at the period when Pausanias visited Athens, among which, I suspect, 
were the Pythium and the Leocorium, which from their celebrity he 
was not likely to have passed over unnoticed. Some, too, are of his 
own, or even of a later age. Pausanias, therefore, is responsible only 
for having omitted what he saw, and as the buildings which may be re- 
ferred to this head, were, as far as we know, of a Macedonian- Greek 
or a Roman origin, it is probable, that his omission of these was 
deemed more consistent with the object he had in view, a description 
of the antiquities, and not, generally speaking, of the public buildings 
of Athens. Thus, for instance, he passes over without notice the 
temple of the Winds, because it was a modern structure ; while he 
dwells with feelings of interest on the Anaceum and the sacred portion 
of Aglaurus. He dispatches, too, in a few words, and as it were in a 
parenthesis, the great additions which had been made to the city by 
Hadrian. For the same reason, Pausanias barely and incidentally 



504 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



notices the new Agora, the Gymnasium of Ptolemy, and the monu- 
ment of Philopappus, and if he deigns to expatiate on the Olympium 
and the Stadium ; it is, because they were classed among the greatest 
works then in existence. 

Again, it appears that more than three-fourths of all the original 
public buildings at Athens, were either on the south, south-east, or 
south-western side of the Acropolis. Of the remainder, viz. the 
Theseum, the Dioscureum, the Anaceum, the sacred portion of 
Aglaurus, the Prytaneum, and the temple of Ilithya ; the first stood 
at some distance on the north-west, the second, third, and fourth on 
the north-eastern slope of the Acropolis hill, and the fifth and sixth 
at a short distance from the eastern angle of the Acropolis. The 
space therefore on the north of the Acropolis within the city walls, 
which contained no genuine monument whatever of Athenian origin, 
was above one half of the entire area of the city. In short, previous 
to the final subjugation of Athens by the Macedonians, and even long 
after that period^ the whole northern half of the city seems to have 
been appropriated to private buildings. 

Nor is there any difficulty in explaining how this came to pass. I 
have already quoted a passage from Thucydides, which points out the 
situation and extent of the original city previous to the time of 
Theseus. The choice of the spot had been already determined, first, 
by the convenience of a neighbouring spring and rivulet, and next by 
the natural strength of the hill of the Acropolis ; to which all could 
speedily retire in case of alarm. In the progress of time, the habi- 
tations extended to a greater distance from both ; and when Theseus 
prevailed on all the Demoi to assemble in one city ; the space on the 
south of the Acropolis being no longer sufficient for so many inha- 
bitants, the new settlers were obliged to erect their dwellings farther 
eastward, and to occupy the vacant portion of the periphery of the 
hill on the east and on the north.* The Prytaneum was built at this 
period, and precisely on the same spot, where the building described 



* Vide Platoncm in Critia. 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



505 



by Pausanias under this name then stood* ; and to this early ex- 
tension of the city round the Acropolis, we may refer the rest of the 
ancient buildings, which he describes at the base of the hill or near it. 
No other public buildings, however, appear to have been erected on 
this side until after the Persian invasion, when the Theseum was 
built, for which in all probability no space that was sufficiently large, 
could be found unoccupied in the more ancient part of the city. 
The same reason must have induced the Macedonian conquerors and 
Hadrian, where the site was not already chosen, (as in the instance 
of the Olympium,) to decorate the northern part of the city with 
those public buildings, which were designed to commemorate their 
munificence ; and consequently, it is in that quarter that we must look 
for their remains. The style of sculpture and architecture observable 
in these buildings, bear witness to the decline and corruption of the 
arts, and they have occupied perhaps more of the public attention 
than they deserved, f 

If I am correct in the historical view which I have just taken of the 
antiquities of Athens, as well as in my opinion of their local dis- 
position ; my readers will not be inclined to admit a very fanciful, 
although ingenious application, of the inscriptions on the arch of 
Hadrian, which has been lately brought forward by J Mr. Wilkins. 
The arch here spoken of, which stands at the north-western angle 
of the Peribolus of the Olympium, and appears to have had no 
connection with any wall of the city, has been generally considered 
as a monument of adulation, erected by the citizens of Athens to the 



* Thucydides says only, that the Prytaneum was built by Theseus ; but Plutarch tells us 
that Theseus erected it precisely on the spot where it then stood, otts vuv i8guT«j. 

f I allude here to the Stoa or Portico, as it is called by Stuart. Upon this building I 
find the following observation in my Journal: — "The uncertainty of antiquarians respecting 
this ruin is less to be regretted since there is so little to admire in its style of architecture ; 
the swollen flirtings in the lower half of the shafts of the columns, the sharp-pointed 
abacuses and the insulated and starting entablatures, producing a very bad effect, and 
proving it to have been built in the decline of Greek architecture, and not in the best 
period of the Roman." 

\ Atheniensia, or Remarks on the Topography and Buildings of Athens, p. 45. 

3 T 



506 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



Emperor Hadrian, who indeed had done much for their city, but in 
no instance so much, as in completing that magnificent structure the 
Olympium. 

This opinion is confirmed by the two inscriptions on the entablature 
of the arch, the idea of which seems to have been borrowed from 
the celebrated column on the isthmus of Corinth, which pointed out 
the boundaries between Ionia and the Peloponnesus. In the same 
way, these two inscriptions were intended to point out the distinction 
between New and Old Athens ; the former of which is here called the 
city of Hadrian, as it is called New Athens in the inscription over the 
aqueduct. 

The compliment, however, was not wholly unmerited ; for if the 
Athenians had more reason to be proud of the edifice which this 
arch directly faces, than of any other which had been for some ages 
erected ; it is certain, that Hadrian had contributed in a material 
degree to its completion ; as may be collected both from the testi- 
mony of Pausanias, and from some unequivocal proofs of the Roman 
school of architecture in this building, which are pointed out by Mr. 
Wilkins himself, (p. 159.) How much, too, the vanity of Hadrian 
was flattered by the connection of his name with this temple, may be 
seen by the title of Olympius, which was given him in a dedicatory 
inscription published by Stuart. Moreover, we are told by Pausanias, 
that the whole enclosure was full of statues dedicated to that Emperor; 
besides four which were within the temple, and a colossal statue and 
an altar, which were erected to him by the citizens of Athens. 

I have already stated what has been the received opinion concerning 
these inscriptions, I mean their application; for some variation of 
the sense arises from the different collocation of the Greek letters. 
But according to Mr. Wilkins, these inscriptions refer to what is seen 
through the arch, and not from it ; the arch itself being intended, as 
he says, to guide the reader of these inscriptions to the objects which 
they refer to. The result of this hypothesis is, that the Olympium 
forms a portion of the city of Theseus, while the greater part of 
Athens bears the new denomination of Hadrianopolis ! 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



507 



Now admitting that this mode of interpretation is not constrained 
and artificial, and that it does not ill accord with the genius of those 
times j it will be found by no means to correspond with the local 
circumstances that are connected with the arch, which it pretends to 
illustrate. " On reading the southern inscription," says Mr. W., 
"AIAEI2 AAPIANOT KAI OTXI 0HSEX12 IIOAII, the eye is immediately 
directed to the picture seen beyond the arched opening, over which it 
is placed, and of which it forms the frame. Through this, the 
greater part of the modern town presents itself lying in the plain, on 
the north-east side of the citadel, whilst the Acropolis itself is on the 
left, without the field of view." On consulting the plan of Athens 
which is prefixed to Mr. W.'s work, we find a line drawn at right 
angles to the plan of the arch, which is evidently intended to mark 
the centre of the view here alluded to. This line nearly touches the 
eastern angle of the Acropolis ; the Acropolis therefore is on the left, 
not as he says, without the field of view, but within it ; or rather 
near the centre. That part of the city, too, which is on the left of 
this line, and which is the more ancient, has full as much claim to 
the distinction here conferred as that which lies to the right ; and, 
if we apply the rule which has just been laid down, must equally 
bear the name of Hadrianopolis. But the position to the right of the 
line actually includes the Prytaneum, which we know to have been 
erected by Theseus, and consequently it includes that very city of 
Theseus, which it is the object of this new interpretation to exclude 
from it. 

Equal inconsistencies arise on the other hand, from the application 
of the inscription on the north side of the arch, AIAEIE A0HNAI 
GriSEXlE H nPIN nOAII, to the objects on the south ; for, waiving the 
objection that might be made to a modern building on this side ; 
which occupies so much of the ground, as being an argument equally 
available against the position of the old city on the north side of the 
arch ; it will be seen by a reference to Mr. W.'s map, that the city of 
Theseus is removed to a very inconvenient distance from the citadel 
to which it owed its protection ; while a very considerable space 
directly to the south of the Acropolis remains wholly unoccupied. 

3 t 2 



508 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



Mr. W. seems to have been aware of this objection, and has en- 
deavoured to obviate it ; first, by removing the Pelasgicum from the 
north side of the Acropolis to the south, and secondly, by occupying 
as much of the vacant space as he could on this side, with the 
southern extremity of the Ceramicus, and the left wing of his city of 
Theseus ; which is thus conveniently made to extend beyond that 
line to which it was before limited. But that the situation of the en- 
closure called the Pelasgicum was on the northern side of the 
Acropolis, is proved by its connection with the cave of Pan, as it is 
stated in the following passage of Lucian : — kou to «V Iksivov Trjv uVo t£ 

ctKgoTToXsi (TTTTjXvyyot TavTyv a,7roX(xj3o[A,£vog otKSt piy.gov V7ro tou neXacrytKOU : 

and the cave here alluded to, is represented on this side of the 
Propylaea, on a bronze medal of Athens, which I have already men- 
tioned. Besides, we learn from Plutarch, that the KifimUv rei^og was 
the southern wall of the Acropolis, so that the Pelasgic wall which 
overlooked the enclosure, must have been the northern. 

It is therefore clear, that if the author of this hypothesis means to 
be consistent, he must abandon the ground which he has thus 
endeavoured to occupy ; the consequence of which is, that all that 
portion of the city which I have proved from Pausanias and other 
writers, to have comprehended the most ancient and most important 
part of it ; and to have been best situated both in regard to security 
and a supply of water ; will present in Mr. W.'s plan a blank space of 
ground, unaccountably interposed between the city and that fortress 
to which it looked for protection. But enough has been said to prove 
the weakness of this new hypothesis, and we may safely revert to the 
old explanation of these adulatory inscriptions, which are evidently 
intended to feed the vanity of the Emperor Hadrian ; a proof of 
which, is the negation which is introduced into the southern in- 
scription, showing that the northern is to be read first, and that the 
reader is supposed to be advancing from the old city towards the 
Olympium. * 



* In Stuart's plan of Athens the aqueduct of Hadrian lies to the south of the line of the 
arch, which stands, he says, nearly north-east and south-west. The inscription over the 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



509 



In the preceding enquiry, (the necessity for which in my opinion 
ought long ago to have been superseded,) an attempt has been made 
to settle some of the most leading and important points in the topo- 
graphy of Athens. 

The enquiry may now be extended to the walls of that city, although 
with less prospect of success ; for here unfortunately our intelligent 
guide forsakes us, and the information which we must now glean 
from a variety of other sources, is too scanty to afford us a competent 
idea of the plan of these walls ; either in respect to the ground whfch 
they occupied, or the number and position of the gates. 

As Thucydides was almost an eye-witness to their construction, 
we may justly regard whatever he says upon the subject as authentic ; I 
shall therefore avail myself to the utmost of his information, and have 
recourse only to other writers when they are not in opposition to him. 

We are told by that historian, that the inhabitants of Athens re- 
turned to the city immediately after the departure of the j~ Persians, 
and in the same year began to rebuild the walls ; after which they 
proceeded to fortify the Piraeus. An interval, however, of some 
years elapsed, before they began to erect the long walls which united 
the city with the Piraeus ; and completed the general plan of fortifi- 
cation recommended by Themistocles. 

The length of the northern long wall, or the Piraean, according to 
Thucydides, was forty stadia, and that of the southern or Phaleric, 
thirty-five ; which measures agree pretty well with the respective 
distances of the Piraeus and Phalerum from Athens. J 

The new walls round the city comprehended a greater space of 



aqueduct shows it to have been in New Athens. The Olyrapium, therefore, even accord- 
ing to this hypothesis, must be in New Athens, 
f A. C. 478, Olvmp. lxxv. 2-3. Dodw. 

X It is necessary tor me to observe in this place, that I argue on the hypothesis of two 
long walls ; one connecting the city with the Piraeus, the other with Phalerum. I have 
therefore called one of these walls the Piraean, and the other the Phaleric. It will be seen 
by an inquiry into the subject of the long walls, which is printed in this edition, that both 
these walls joined the city to the Pirasus. The conclusions therefore in respect to a single 
gate between the long walls and Athens, remain unaltered, for which reason I have not 
thought it necessary to correct the text. 



510 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



ground than the old, and the part which it was necessary to guard, 
measured forty-three stadia.* Of the remainder, which we may 
conclude was the part shut up between the long walls, he does not 
give the measure ; probably because it was insignificant. His 
scholiast, however, informs us, that it was seventeen stadia, which is 
highly improbable ; the strength of the long walls, considered as 
lines of fortification, much depending upon the shortness of their 
distance from each other and their parallelism. But the position of 
the Pirsean gate, which may now be regarded as fixed, and that of 
the Ilissus, fully demonstrate the impossibility of this wide t interval. 

That it comprehended the Museum hill, might be inferred from 
the importance attached to this spot after it was fortified, both by 
Antigonus and his son Demetrius ; who, by means of the garrison 
which they placed here, kept the city effectually under subjection. 
On the other hand, the vestiges of the city walls, (if they can be 
depended upon,) which inclose the monument of Philopappus, evi- 
dently terminate on the summit of this pointed hill southwards, 
striking off nearly in a right angle to the east ; so that the junction 
of the Phaleric with the city wall, must necessarily have taken place 
within this distance from the Pirasan. ;j. 

The space thus left between the long walls, would admit of one 
gate of communication only between the city and the sea-ports, which 
some will think improbable. I am inclined, nevertheless, to adopt 



* It would appear from some passages in the writings of Xenophon and Thucydides, 
that the walls of the city had been extended farther than was necessary for the accommod- 
ation of the inhabitants, in consequence of which there was a considerable space of vacant 
ground. This must have been to the north of the Acropolis. Here, then, was room for 
the garden of Epicurus, and for all the public buildings which were subsequently added to 
the city by the Macedonian Greeks and the Romans. '0» Se ttoXKo) t« re eqr\fx.u rrjs 
noXtwc wxrjTav, x«» Ta lega, x«» rot rjguict "xolvtu, &C. &C. Thucyd. Hist. E»t« eweiS)} xoci 
■noKXa. olxtwv egyptx. lunv hrog rw Ter^cov xai oixoVfSa. Xenoph. de Redit. 

f The bed of the Ilissus bends so much to the north, after it has passed by the Museum 
hill, as to reduce this space very considerably. Chandler crossed it in his way to the 
town. 

% Xenophon represents the long walls at Corinth as being at some distance from each 
other ; but their length, according to Strabo, did not exceed twelve stadia. 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



511 



this supposition, and for the following reasons, which it will be pro- 
per to state at some length. 

In the first place, I must observe, that we have proofs of the 
existence of a Pyraean gate, but none of a Phaleric, (at least of a 
gate so denominated j) which, if it had ever existed, must have 
been somewhere between the long walls, and probably as close to the 
Phaleric wall as the other was to the Pyraean ; and although Pausanias 
speaks of a gate as you entered the city from Phalerum ; yet, it will 
be recollected, that he is silent with respect to the southern long wall 
which had been long demolished ; and that it is the more direct as 
well as shorter road, which he is describing from that sea-port to 
the city. 

In the next place, it is a circumstance well known, that the 
northern long wall was principally efficient in keeping open the 
communication between Athens and the Piraeus, and it appears upon 
all occasions to have secured Athens from being closely invested. It 
was therefore of the most essential importance in either point of view, 
and not only the first of the two walls which was constructed*, but in 
all probability the strongest ; and this will explain the reason why so 
great a part of its foundations are still visible, while nearly all the 
traces of the Phaleric wall have disappeared. -f- 

I conceive too that the northern long wall wa& provided with some 
watch towers, while few or none were necessary to the southern. J 
For the same reason, gates which would have impaired the strength 
of one of these walls, might not have been incompatible with the 
use of the other ; and thus it is possible that the city which was 
least exposed to an attack on the south side, may have had the 



* Vide Andocid. de Pace. 

f Of the southern long wall a small fragment or two only remains, which M. Fauvel 
discovered by accident in the vineyards. These walls, he says, were parallel, except 
near Phalerum, and about forty paces asunder, as well as he could recollect without his 
notes. MS. Journal. 

X I think this may be fairly concluded from the expression of Thucydides, — T« 2e 



512 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS, 



h oi ce of some points of communication with the interior of the 
long walls, besides that which the Pirsean gate afforded. For in- 
stance, there were two, if not more gates, which opened into the 
Ceramicus ; and the use of these might have been safely com- 
bined with that of a gate in the Phaleric wall, which was at a 
short distance. 

The periphery of the city walls, according to the above supposition, 
could not much have exceeded the measure given by Thucydides, 
which is fortv-three stadia* ; and if we take that of the distance 
between Athens and the Piraeus, as a scale for computing the length 
of the stadium here made use of, it would appear that there were 
about ten of these to a geographic mile. On applying this scale of 
measurement to the traces of the old walls of the city, as they are 
represented in Fauvel's plan, we shall find them not to exceed 30 
stadia in circumference. 

I have already observed, that no reliance is to be placed on what 
are called the vestiges of the ancient walls, with the exception of 
such as are perceivable on the Museum hill and near Pnyx ; for 
these, besides something of a regular plan and connection, have 
historical evidence in favour of their antiquity. And although the 
very near approach of these walls to the entrance of the Acropolis 
might justly excite some suspicion of the validity of their claims, yet 
it will be recollected that this was a most vital point in the general 
system of defence, and that Themistocles has probably adapted the 
plan of the walls on this side to the natural strength of the position. 
In like manner, it is evident that the bed of the Ilissus must have 
set some inconvenient limits to the extension of the walls on the 
southern side of the Acropolis ; so that the fountain of Enneacrunos, 
which was probably not within, although immediately under the 
protection of the walls, may be regarded as the farthest point to 
which they advanced in that direction. And thus, after admitting as 



* It is remarkable, that Dicaearchus, in his Metrical Fragment, gives the same measure 
to the walls of Thebes. 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



513 



genuine those traces of the walls, which Fauvel and Stuart have laid 
down on this side of the Acropolis, and which amount to about one- 
third of their periphery, we may suspend the labour of further 
enquiry, for all beyond is doubt or conjecture. * 

It is on account of these insuperable difficulties, in ascertaining 
the plan of the walls, that we are unable to fix the exact position of 
the gates. We have even no precise information respecting their 
number or denomination, and it is only by carefully comparing what- 
ever may be gleaned from ancient authorities, with a few fixed points 
in the plan of Athens, that we can hope to satisfy our curiosity. The 
result, however, of this investigation has been more successful than 
I had anticipated. 

To begin with Dipylon. The first object which Pausanias takes 
notice of, on the sacred way leading from Athens to Eleusis, is the 
tomb of Anthemocritus. Now, we are told by Plutarch that this per- 
sonage was interred near the Thriasian gate, which was then called 
Dipylon f ; a circumstance which derives some confirmation, if it 
needed any, from a passage in the oration of Isaeus, -rr^og % KuXvduvu. 
From which we may conclude, first, that the ©p<ao-/a< TlvXai and aIttuXov 
were only different denominations of the same gate, and secondly, 
that the Iepa; YJvXca (if they ever existed) could have been no other 
than this gate. It is remarkable that the two roads which lead at 
present from Eleusis and the site of the Academy, met at one and 
the same gate of the modern town. 

I have expressed a doubt, whether the denomination of 'tegou riuXa/ 
was ever given to Dipylon ; for the sole authority for it is in a passage 
of Plutarch. I am inclined to believe, that 'h^ai has been substituted 



* We may collect from the following passage of Strabo, how far they extended towards 
the south-east: "Ej-j 8' «ut^ ev tm tei'^si ju.£t«£u tou HvSlov xou tov OXvpnlou. Lib. ix. "Vitru- 
viussays, that the walls on this side were of brick : — " Nonnullis civitatibus publica opera, 
et privatas domo?, etiam regias, e latere, structas licet vieere ; ct primum Athenis murum 
qui spectat ad Hymettum montem." Lib. xi. Pliny repeats this account, lib. xxxv. c. 14. 

■j-Ta^rjvas Se AvSeju-o'xgJTOv 7r«g« Taj ©gjaa/aj wuXac, a* vvv Aj7ruXov ovo^,«^ovt«<. 
^Quoted by Harpocratio. 

3 u 



514 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



in it by mistake for Hp/a* or the Sepulchral gate, which probably stood 
at the foot of the Museum hill, and was the next in succession to 
the Piraean ; for some sepulchres are still observable in the side of 
the rock which forms the base of that hill.* Here, too, the funereal 
rites might have been performed with less danger of interruption than 
on the other side, while the city was pressed by a besieging enemy. The 
evidence however, which results from all this, is far from being conclu- 
sive; and it amounts only to a high degree of probability, that the Sepul- 
chral gate of the city stood in the situation which I have described. 

That which is called by Philostratus j* the gate of the Ceramicus, 
was, without doubt, the next in succession eastward ; and either this 
or the preceding must have borne the denomination of "l7nru^g or the 
Equestrian. The expression a woppa tuv 'I-mrtuv in the passage of 
Philostratus which I have just referred to, would lead to the conclu- 
sion that it was the Ceramic ; and the TruAa* ou gromv tuv 'unrzuv seem 
to be the same gate noticed by Pausanias in the following passage : 

lovcri Se TTfjog ttjv cttocIv vjv HoikIKtiv ovopci^outriv aVo tuv ygcctyuv, zcttiv 'Egpsjf 
^tzXicovg xo&ovfiBvog Ayogculog, kou ttvXv] itX^c'iov tTTtcrTt $b oi tqottcliov 
AQqvdtw iTnTOfjioiy^lcc K^oiTvjtrcivTuv Ylxit<rTu^x ov ' O n the other hand, there 
is a passage in Plutarch's life of Hyperides, which seems to show the 
connection of the Equestrian gate with the Sepulchral. \ 

The Ceramic p;ate must have been the same as that which has 
already been noticed near the Mercury of the Agora, and it is pro- 



* " On our left," says Chandler, " were the door-ways of ancient sepulchres, hewn out 
in the rock." By a law of Solon the dead were not permitted to be interred within the 
city; and although many sepulchral monuments of persons of distinction are noticed by 
Pausanias both on the road to the Academy and to Eleusis, yet it is not improbable that 
persons of inferior note were deposited in one particular situation, the gate leading to 
which was called Sepulchral. The author of the Etymologicon says, Hglcti, ttvXou A$r)vrio-t, 
o\a. to t« j vexf eKfegevScu exei ett) to. yflot; o ir» t«j T«<p«j. The choice of a western gate 
for this purpose seems to have been consistent with their mythology. 

f n«fj)X3ev el; to tmv Tiy^viTcuv /3«AsuT>)^iov, o 8s aoxolo^Ton t«j too xega/xsixa irCXct^ « 

ropbw twv 'lmreeov. — Philostratus in Philagro Soph. lib. xi. 

\ T«V oixe/ac, to. og-a. XufiovTot;, 3«\J/«i te upa to!; yovevvi, 7rgo tcov '\inro&wv twKwv. The 
'a\lu. toTj yoveutn, probably referring to a place of common interment. 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



515 



bably the same gate through which, at certain festivals, Xenophon 
recommends that the Athenian cavalry should issue, after they had 
made a procession round the Agora ; and thence gallop off in 
squadrons as far as the Eleusinium. As the Ceramic gate appears, 
from this passage of Xenophon, to have been at some distance from 
Enneacrunos, we must conclude that there was a point of communica- 
tion with that public fountain through some gate which was nearer 
to it, if not directly opposite ; although no such gate is expressly 
mentioned by any ancient author. A gate, however, called Diochares, 
is mentioned by Strabo in this quarter ; which I suspect to have been 
situated precisely in the spot where it was so much wanted. The 

passage is as follows : — Eicr) p\v ovv at ir^yoti xuSctpQ tea) ttotI^ vSccTog, 
ug tpa,<nv, lx,rog ruv Aio^apovg KccXovyAvuv ttvXuv^ 7rXyi<riov tov Avksiov, This 

is the only fountain which Strabo speaks of at Athens. How im- 
probable, therefore, is it, that he should have passed over in silence 
so important an object as Enneacrunos, while he mentions a fountain 
which must have been comparatively insignificant? Besides, I know 
of no springs [jrviyca) to the eastward of Enneacrunos; except one 
which is about a mile above the Stadium. But the words which 
follow my quotation more particularly designate Enneacrunos : — 

npOTSpOV <?£ XOi) K^TjVV] KUTCt<rK£Va.(TTO Tig 7rXvj(TlOV TToXXS KOii KOiXti * U^OiTOg. 

Nor could this be the fountain which is so commended in the 
Phasdrus of Plato ; for Strabo expressly mentions that fountain in 
another part of his narrative, and in a manner which shews that they 
were very distant from each other, f 



* " When we had passed these columns (of Jupiter Olympius)," says Stuart, " and the 
eastern end of the Peribolus, of which we found two hundred and thirty feet not utterly 
demolished, we arrived immediately at the vestiges of the city wall and of one of its gates, 
probably that called Diochares. We were now on the side of the Ilissus; hence we de- 
scended to a copious and beautiful spi-ing, at present called Callirbe, flowing into the 
channel of the river." Vol. iii. p. 23. — Chandler, too, speaking of the foundations of 
this gate and Callirbe, expresses his opinion that the passage of Strabo above quoted refers 
to the latter. 

f See the passage in the Phaedrus relating to these springs pr fountains, and their 
situation. 

3 u 2 



516 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



The Itonian gate was probably the next as we advance in this 
direction. It is mentioned by iEschines the philosopher *, in the 

following words : — '£lq fo Bocttov Tyv TTotfoi to TeT^oq ysifiivj Touq It avian; 
(7t\vj<rlov yap unci tuv ttvXuv, irpoq tv\ kfAO&^ovlh p^A??,) JtoiTotXotfAftctvofASv oJutov. 

Now, Plutarch gives us pretty accurate information where this column 
was situated ; for speaking of Hippolyta, the* Amazon who was slain 
by Molpadia, in the battle between Theseus and the Amazons, he 
adds, — xal t%v ^n'AjjVj ryv irat^at to fyq Fyq ttj; OXvprrlu;, \tv\ tuutvi xeir&eei. 
The Itonian gate therefore must have stood on the eastern side of the 
Peribolus of the Olympium, or between that and the Pythium ; for 
Strabo speaks of a wall, probably the wall of the city, in that 
situation, -j- 

I must now conduct my readers back to the western side of the 
city, where the situation of the Melitensian gate seems to be clearly 
pointed out in the following passage of the life of Thucydides by 

MarcellillUS : — npo? yoip Tdttq MeXtTicrt TrvXoitq xocXxpevixiq ignv ev KoiXw toc 
KuXvptva, KlfjLuvoq [xvypxTtx. According to Herodotus, the sepulchre 
of Cimon, the father of Miltiades, was in front of the Acropolis, 
beyond the way called through Coele. We are told by an anonymous 
author, who is quoted by Meursius, that the dwelling of Cimon was 
in Pnyx, which would lead us to suppose that the monuments of 
that family, and consequently the gate which stood in their vicinity, 
could not have been very distant ; and in reality, the form of the 
ground between Pnyx and the Areopagus, (a very remarkable' hollow, 
and the only one at Athens,) fully confirms this supposition.^: 

The Melitensian gate was, therefore, the first as you advance 
northward from the Piraean gate, and probably at no great distance 

* In Axiocho. 

f "Efi 8* aori) (>) tiyiqa. t5 A/oj Aorqa-rtcilu) ev tm tei^ei peru^C tov TIvSlov xa) too Okvfj.iriov. 
Lib. ix. 

% Chandler describes this spot very accurately : — " We now enter a valley," says he, " at 
the foot of the hill of the Acropolis, in which is a track leading between Pnyx and the 
Areopagus, toward the temple of Theseus. This region was called Coele or the Hollow. 
On the left hand is a gap in the mountain, where, it is believed, was the Melitensian gate, 
and within is a sepulchre or two in the rock. Going on, other sepulchres hewn in the side 
of the mountain like those first mentioned occur." 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



517 



from it ; then followed Dipylon ; beyond which must have stood the 
Acharnian ; for such was- the direction of Acharnee in respect to 
Athens. The space now left for the remaining gates, supposing the 
intervals between them to be like the others, or nearly so, will admit 
of three more ; one of which was probably the Diomeian. The 
other gates enumerated by Potter, are the irvXat Q^kUi or Thracian, 
the authority for which is taken by mistake from a passage of 
Thucydides relating to Amphipolis*; the nuXtxi Zyia.7ar\-, which is 
mentioned only in a monkish legend quoted by Meursius ; h\y\wq 
ttvXoci, which was unquestionably no gate of the city ; and the gate 
of Hadrian, of which I have already treated. 

But a question of some importance remains to be answered, — How 
was Athens supplied with water ? 

The first settlers were undoubtedly influenced in the choice of their 
situation, by the proximity of Calliroe and the Ilissus ; and until the 
time of Theseus, it is probable that these were sufficient for the 
supply of the inhabitants. But the great addition which was then 
made to the population of the city, by causing the buildings to extend 
considerably to the north of the Ilissus, must have suggested other 
means of supply ; and those inhabitants who dwelt at the greatest 
distance from Calliroe and the Ilissus, doubtless, had recourse to wells. 

Plutarch mentions a police law of Solon, respecting the use of 
wells. According to this law, every one who dwelt within the space 
defined by Hippicon or four stadia around a well, might make use 
of it. Others, not within that distance, were enjoined to provide 
one of their own ; and in case they should meet with no water at the 
depth of ten fathoms, they were allowed daily to fetch a limited 
quantity from their next neighbours' well. Plutarch says, that Solon 
enacted this law, because he thought it right to provide against the 
want of water, without holding out any encouragement to indolence ; 
but, it is evident, that in such a country as Attica, it was necessary 



* This is a most extraordinary instance of carelessness in such a writer as Meursius. 
f Between the walls and Anchesinus is a little Greek church called Agia Scea. 



518 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



thus to limit the distance of the wells from each other, or they would 
have been very soon drawn dry. 

This law, the very provisions of which demonstrate the insufficiency 
of such a resource for a condensed population, has, nevertheless, been 
very absurdly applied to the city alone ; and the question seems 
never to have occurred, how Athens could have been better supplied ? 
For the Athenians, at an early period, are known to have indulged 
in the luxury of baths *, and were not less nice than the Romans 
or even the present inhabitants of those countries, in the discrimin- 
ation of water ; nor could the practicability of conveying it by an 
aqueduct have escaped the observation of that ingenious and 
enterprising people. On the contrary, there are some plain In- 
dications, I think, of this art having been understood and practised 
here at an early period, in the following passage of Phrynichus, 

Me rcov o Aivxovosvc, olf 6 rag xpyvxg ayuv. Upon which Salmasius (to 

whom I am indebted for this authority) observes, " Metonem per ista, 
plane designavit, qui etiam aquilex fuit, non tantum astronomus ;" for 
according to the testimony of the same writer (Phrynichus,) which is 
quoted by Suidas, it appears, that a fountain was constructed by 
Meton within the walls of Athens. 'Ev ru> KoXcovu xpyvriv r\ya. [o Meruv) 
xa,Ta.(Tx.evK<roiTo 9 <pij<rtv o Opi/i/^o;, Movot^ottu. (Meurs. Reliq. Att.) The 
Colonus here mentioned is supposed to have been an eminence 
somewhere near the Agora, and therefore called Ayo^Tog, to distinguish 
it from the "inTriog, which was situated near the academy. But we have 
the positive testimony of Thucydides that Athens was supplied in this 
way, in the following passage of his description of the plague which 
prevailed there: kx) \v touq o$o7g szaXtvfiovvro, mz) crept rdtg K^v.enq aira<rag 
rv rou vdarog e7ri9vf>iicx. L. 2. 

In the Lysis of Plato, Socrates says, " I was going out of the 
Academy directly towards the Lyceum, by the way which lies without 



* It is said in one of the comedies of Aristophanes, " that the Gymnasia were empty; 
but the baths were always full." Demosthenes complains of the degree to which this 
usage had spread among the mariners of the fleet. 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



519 



the city walls ; but when I got to the gate where the fountain of 
Panops is, I there met with Hippothales." Now, when we recollect 
the position of the Academy from whence he started, and the inter- 
vention of the long walls which stopped his passage on the right, no 
doubt can remain of the fountain of Panops having been situated on 
the north-eastern side of the city ; where it could have had no com- 
munication with the Enneaerunos. 

We have evidence of the existence of an aqueduct soon after this 
period in the Lyceum. It is mentioned by several writers*; but as 
Theophrastus seems to have been the original authority, I shall give 
it in his words: — "H ye ovv ev tu AvKeia r, 7rXcx.Ta.v0s, % nrotroL tov o^erov en 
vex oiicroc 7T£pt rpeig zee) TpiotnovTcx, Tvyiyeiq d<py\v.ev e%*<r# tottov re apa. xul 

rpoQviv. Pliny repeats this wonderful account of the plane-tree with 
some variations ; noticing a fountain here: — "Nunc est clara (Platanus) 
in Li/ceo, gelidi fo7itis, socia amcenitate" &c. It was, probably, one of 
those trees which Plato in the dialogue above quoted mentions as 
having been planted in the new Palaestra; the formation of which, 
as well as the planting of the trees f, is ascribed by Plutarch to the 
orator Lycurgus. | 

It is remarkable, that at this very period, Diceearchus, in the 
words, vi <$e itoXiq, £ijp« Trucra. evvefpog, appears to represent the city 
as very ill supplied with water. But according to Gataker§, the word 
voXtg here applies to the district or country of Attica, %wp«, and not 
to the city. 

We have another proof of the existence of these public works for 
the supply of the city, in the offices of K^vd^x 7 ! and Kpvjvo<pvXct£. In 
the Politics of Aristotle, he is called ett^sXijt^ k^vuv. Themistocles 
seems at one period of his life, to have held an office, perhaps a 
superior one of this sort ; for Plutarch says, r,v dvroc^ ore ruv 'ASypytriv 



* Theophrastus, Hist. Plant, lib. i. c. x. ; Varro, lib. i. c. 3J.; and Pliny, lib. xii. c. 1. 
f It is impossible that any tree, except the Pinus maritima or the olive, could have 
grown in such a dry and rocky soil as that of the Lyceum, without constant irrigation. 
% Vide his Life in the X Rhet. 
§ Adv. Post. cxiv. 



520 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



dveSriKev. An instance is given by Thucydides, in his account of 
the siege of Syracuse, how sensible the Athenians were of the im- 
portance of these works. O't ABvivoclot rovg £e oyjrovg ccvtm, 01 \q 

TYIV 7T0XtV V7T0V0fjLYl^OV 7T0T0J VjOiTOg '/jyfXiVOl TjCUV, (Slttp^B^CtV. And it is not 

improbable, that the mischief thus described, was afterwards re- 
taliated upon themselves ; either on the invasion of Philip or the 
capture of the city by Sylla. 

Whether it was in consequence of a violence like this, that the 
aqueducts were abandoned, or they had become useless by long 
neglect ; we find that Athens at a subsequent period had relapsed 
into her former state ; for Pausanias, who visited that city in the 
latter half of the second century, speaking of Enneacrunos, informs 

US, that Opsara plv xai J<a TToctrrig rvjg TToKsug Ifh nriyrj <5fi uutti ^ovy. 

% Soon after this, however, as we learn from an inscription over the 
Ionic arcade at the foot of Mount Anchesmus, Athens was provided 
with an aqueduct, by the munificence of the Emperors Hadrian and 
Antonine. * 

The modern city is abundantly supplied in the same way by a 
subterranean canal, which conveys to it the whole perennial stream 
of the Ilissus. It is, therefore, no wonder, that the bed of that river 
should present an appearance, at this time, so little corresponding 
with its poetical character ; and that travellers should complain so 
feelingly of its degradation. *f 



* It was begun by Hadrian and finished by Antonine in his third consulate. 

f The following extracts from my Journal will convey some information respecting the 
present state of the Ilissus — 

" Oct. 21. — Notwithstanding the heavy rains of the preceding evening, the bed of the 
Ilissus was quite dry, but as we were tracing its course upwards towards Enneacrunos, I 
discovered a subterranean canal immediately beneath it, which contained a small stream ot 
clear water. It was about six feet below the bed of the river, hewn out of the solid 
micaceous rock, and measured about three feet six inches by two feet six inches." 

" Nov. 14. — I observed in my walk this day, that notwithstanding the heavy rains 
which we had lately experienced here, a very small rivulet ran along the gravelly bed of the 
Ilissus. Fauvel informed me, that he had found the traces of seven or eight pipes belong- 



ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ATHENS. 



521 



The principal source of the Ilissus is near the monastery of 
Cyriani, just below the higher region of Mount Hymettus. The 
stream bursts forth there from the cavities of the marble rock, and 
soon loses itself in a deep ravine, which it has worn in the schistous 
basis of the mountain. At some distance below, the old bed of the 
river turns to the left, and is joined by several other ravines, which 
convey to it in the rainy season an additional supply of water, The 
stream, however, before it reaches the Eridanus, is turned off in a 
more straight direction towards the city, and conveyed during the 
remainder of its course under ground. This must have been an 
enterprize of considerable labour and expence, not unworthy of 
the better days of Greece; for a little to the north of Ampelokipo, 
I took notice of a number of shafts by the road side, sunk in the 
hard rock, which proved upon enquiry to belong to the city- 
aqueduct there, at a considerable depth under ground. 

Stuart was of opinion, that the reservoir of Hadrian's aqueduct 
had been supplied with water by a raised aqueduct of no mean length ; 
for he passed some ruined arches of it in several places, at a con- 
siderable distance from each other in his way to Cephissia ; which is 
between six and seven miles from Athens. He supposes it to have 
led from that place. Chandler likewise noticed these remains of an 
aqueduct, and accounts for them in the same way. It appears 
extraordinary, however, that Athens should have been supplied in 
this direction, since the distance from which the water is conveyed by 
the present aqueduct is comparatively much shorter. 



ing to Enneacrunos in the face of the rock, where the great fall is in the bed of the 
Ilissus and that the subterranean canal which I observed draws off all the water, and has 
a stream the whole year. The source of this stream is probably the original Callirbe." 

Fourmont (Acad. Inscrip. xvi.) says, " that Enneacrunos and Callirbe were not suffi- 
cient to supply the city with water : " On saigna Fllissus des sa source, a deux lieues et demie 
de la ville." They also formed, he adds, subterraneous aqueducts, of which two re- 
main now, distributing water to the town. Fourmont thought them of high antiquity. 



3 x 



( 522 ) 



ON THE LONG WALLS OF ATHENS. 

[BY MR. HAWKINS.] 

In the course of the preceding enquiry into the topography of Athens, 
some reference has been made to the long walls which connected 
that city with the Piraeus, and I have adopted without scruple the 
opinion which has prevailed both in ancient and in modern times, 
respecting their number. 

But it would be improper not to notice in this place, an opinion 
adopted by some critics, whose judgment is entitled to every respect, 
that there was a third or middle wall in the same direction. I shall 
therefore proceed to its examination. 

The first authority for this opinion is derived from Thucydides, 
who notices the commencement of these walls and their completion 
as well as their respective measures and direction, but who unfortu- 
nately expresses himself in such a manner concerning their number, 
as to lead his readers to two very opposite conclusions. 

In the following passage of his history, ""H^uvto $e koltu. Tovg x%° VOX} s 

" rovTovg not] to. [AccKpci T6i%vi 'AQyvZtoi eg Ba,\acro~a.v OlZOOOfisiVj TO, TE 0OiXvj^OP^S 9 ' 

" Koa to eg Uet^aToe"* two walls only are mentioned under the deno- 
mination of the Long Walls ; one joining the sea at Phalerum, the 
other at the Piraeus. 

In a subsequent passage, Thucydides confirms this idea of their 
number and direction in the following words : " Tov ts ydc(> ^aXv^txou 

(t TifXpvq 0-TCC§lOl yjcTOiV 7TeVT£ KOU TglCKKOVTOt TTQOq TOV KVKXOV TOV OtCTTSwg KOCiaUTOUTOV 

" xvkXov to (puXao~o~o[Aevov Tgeig koci Teo~o~ot(>o(,KOVToi' \o~ti Se uvtov o jcki ccipvXaKTov tjv, 

" to psTa.£v tov ts fta^pou x.a\ tov p-aTimtmh" *j" Here we have the positive 
measure of the Phaleric wall, which agrees with the actual distance; and \ 



* L. i. 



t L. ii. 



LONG WALLS OF ATHENS. 



523 



it is plainly intimated that there were two walls only in contact with 
that of the city, one of which is called the Phaleric, the other simply 
the Long Wall. In the next sentence, however, we unexpectedly 
find two long walls expressly noticed in the direction of the Piraeus, 
and exceeding the length of the Phaleric by one eighth ; " tc& <5e 
66 puxgoc riiyyi TTfios tov Tteigouat, r£(T(ra^ocKovTcx. trrkMrn ;" and that no doubt 
might exist of two walls being here understood, {jziyj\ being often 
applied to the single wall of a town,) he has added " Sv to e^coBsv s-n?- 

cc ~ " 

•• gElTO. 

The sense of the entire passage therefore is inconsistent and con- 
tradictory, for the parts taken separately authorize very different 
conclusions. Nevertheless there are two distinct points of information 
which I think may be fairly deduced from it ; and they are of no 
small importance in settling the object of this enquiry, namely, that 
whatever might be the number of these long walls at the period 
alluded to, two only joined those of the city, and two only were in 
the direction of the Piraeus. 

But the authority upon which the notion of a third wall principally 
rests, is taken from the following passage in the Gorgias of Plato. 

" Ue^itcXeovg ocvrog vjKovoV) ore crvvelSovXevev ^/u.Tv tts^i tov $i<xp,eo~ii r'ayovq" 

Plutarch, alluding to this passage, in his life of Pericles, informs us 
that the wall here spoken of was one of the long walls, for he says, 

" to <5e y.axfyov Tilypq^ 7TS£* ou Lcox.^a.Tvjg ocKovtrai (P'/jo-lv avrov elcryj'yovfjLtvov 
i yvco^v IJe^DcXsovc, ^yoXocfSyicre Ka?vAij££>aT^." Now if we take Siafteca 

strictly in the sense of an adjective, and understand by this expression 
a middle wall, the notion of a third seems to be necessarily con- 
nected with it ; but if we take it in the sense which is intended in 
the following passage of St. Chrysostom, where it is synonymous 

with \v Tto petroi, " Kul rot hotKocrlwv g-a2luv eivat TVjv ivzoiyAT^ov tuv ABqvuv, 

" tov nstoaisug o-uvTtBspBvov, kou tuv $icc pso-ou rer^aV," we are at liberty to 
give it a more enlarged interpretation, the meaning here being evi- 
dently that of the walls between the city and the Piraeus. 

Whatever part might have been taken by Cimon in this great 

3x2 



524 



LONG WALLS OF ATHENS. 



national work*, the erection and completion of the long walls ap- 
pear to have principally taken place under the administration of 
Pericles ; and as the southern long wall was built according f#> the 
testimony of Andocides, subsequently to the northern, it is probable 
that this last is the very wall which Pericles here recommends. 

The sense, then, in which we are to understand this passage in the 
Gorgias, must depend, as I have already observed, on the existence 
or the non-existence of a third wall, which can be no other than the 
Phaleric ; and as this is a question of so much importance, it is ne- 
cessary that we should examine it very rigidly. 

I have already stated the very positive information which is derived 
from the sense of two detached passages of Thucydides, and shewn 
how much that sense is weakened, if not wholly destroyed by what 
immediately follows ; insomuch that had Thucydides only spoken of 
a Phaleric wall, and not given us its precise length and direction, we 
should feel little or no scruple in rejecting the idea altogether of a 
wall which connected the city with Phalerum. 

I shall therefore proceed to observe that with the exception of 
Harpocration f, Thucydides seems to be the only authority for this 
wall, and that Pausanias has noticed no traces of it on the road from 
Phalerum to Athens ; whereas he expressly mentions the ruins of 
the long walls on the road from the Piraeus. In the next place it is 
evident that after the ships and the docks, and probably the greater 
part of the inhabitants, had been removed to the Piraeus, Phalerum 
must have lost all its importance as a sea-port ; and as it does not 
appear that it was ever fortified, I am at a loss to conceive what 
could have been the use of a wall connecting it with Athens. 

On the other hand we know that the Pirseus was most strongly 



* Plutarch says that he laid at his own expence a firm foundation for the long walls in 
the swampy grounds near the Pirseus, and that they were erected some time afterwards. 

f Harpocration says there were three long walls, the northern, the southern, and the 
Phaleric, the middle one being called the Southern. He refers, to the authority of a lost 
comedy of Aristophanes. My readers will judge what credit is due to his testimony. 



LONG WALLS OF ATHENS. 



525 



fortified, and that the very existence of Athens as a great state de- 
pended upon its being connected in this manner with its ships and 
is arsenal. 

It may be said that this is merely presumptive evidence against 
a third wall : I shall now therefore bring forward what may be re- 
garded as a direct proof of its non-existence. 

Thucydides observes that the circumference of the walls of Sy- 
racuse was not less [£hv Ixua-o-om) than that of the walls of Athens. 
Now we learn from Strabo*, that the old walls of Syracuse measured 
180 stadia : we must therefore conclude that there were two long 
walls only, not three ; for under the first supposition the number of 
stadia would be 183, and according to the other 218. ^ And it 
follows from what has been said before on the passage of Thucydides, 
that both these walls connected Athens in a straight line with the 
Piraeus. 

It has been already remarked that the notion of two walls in this 
direction is that which was generally adopted by the ancients. The 
very general appellation of a-neKy and brachia which they bestowed 
on these walls, very clearly denote this ; nor is there, I believe, a 
single passage except those which I have cited, in which they are 
not understood to be joined to the Piraeus. " TUyji tcutu" says Strabo, 
when speaking of the wall of this town, " irui^-re to. zaMiXiaitfp&ct 

" Jj£ tod itgiidQ (TKsXr,' tccvtol <T 7jv pax/ice T£i%vi, reTToe^a.x.ovTex, g~xSluv to fjtvjy.og y 

" (rwarrrciira. to ot&o tu Tleigouei" And the same precise information 
is given by Livy, " Inter angustias semiruti muri, qui duobus 
" brachiis Piraeum Athenis jungit." 



* n=vT«7roXif ijv to TtaKaiov, Ixa-rov xai oySoyjxoyra g-xlluiv tyoixyu to ri^oj. L. ii, 
f The measures, according to Thucydides, are as follows : — 

The walls of Athens 43 Stadia. 

The northern long wall 40 

The southern 40 

The Piraeus including Munychia 60 



183 



526 



LONG WALLS OF ATHENS. 



We are told by Andocides*, that after the Piraeus had been fortified, 
the northern long wall was erected, and that after the completion of 
the arsenal, the southern. iEschines f too speaks of the erection 
of the northern, and assigns to it the same period of time: but 
neither iEschines nor Andocides hint at the existence of a third 
wall either in this or in any other direction. 

It has been already shewn, that the long walls could not have 
been very far asunder at the point where they joined those of Athens; 
but it is not improbable that they diverged a little as they approached 
the Piraeus ; for this was by no means inconsistent with the system 
sof defence, and must have greatly facilitated the intercourse between 
such a crowded mart as the Piraeus and Athens. Plato £ speaks of 
Leontius as going up from the Piraeus under the northern long wall, 
which seems to confirm this notion of their divergence; for he would 
hardly have particularized the line of march upon this occasion, had 
not the long walls been here at some distance from each other, 
one perhaps in a direct line from the shore of the haven, the other 
more to the south and in a line with Munychia. 

When we compare the hasty and very faulty construction of the 
walls of Athens, as they are represented by Thucydides, with the 
great care which was taken by Themistocles in erecting those of the 
Piraeus, as well as with the prodigious height which he intended 
to give them §, no doubt can be entertained which of the two was 



* De Pace. f De falsa Legat. % De Republica. 

§ Thucydides informs us that these walls were carried up to one half only of the height 
which was intended, without mentioning what that height was; but this information is 
supplied by Appian, who says " u\J/oj he roc ret^ri tt^eoov rea-uct^ixxovTa. poiX^a." The 
^X ?? according to Suidas, was the measure from the elbow to the end of the middle finger, 
or about one foot and a half. This would give a height of 60 feet to the half-finished walls, 
or 120 feet to the same walls when completed; which is an absurdity. We are told by 
Xenophon, that the poition of these walls which the Athenians had been obliged by treaty 
to raze to the ground, was rebuilt by Conon; but no mention is made of any additions 
having been made upon this occasion to their original height; and yet their strength was 
so great as to resist for a long time all the machinery which Sylla brought to act against 
them ; nor would they have been forced, had not Sylla undermined their foundations. 
See the whole account of this siege by Appian. 



LONG WALLS OF ATHENS. 527 

deemed by him of the greater importance, in respect to the vital 
interests of his country ; nor can we be at a loss to account for what 
Plutarch says of him upon this occasion, " that he had rather joined 
" Athens to the Pirceus than the Pirceus to Athens." The same view 
of the subject is taken by C. Nepos in his life of Themistocles : 
" Hujus consilio triplex Pirsei portus constitutus est : isque mcenibus 
" circumdatus, ut ipsam urbem dignitate cequipararet, utilitate superareV 
Appian, speaking of the walls of the Piraeus, calls them " rieoUxetov 

44 epyov, ore ro7g ABvjuxloig tir\ YIe7\07T7rovvr]<riovg g-garyiywv, k<zi rvjv eX-Kila. rv\g 

44 vixqg tu n^aig* TiSzpevog" and Corn. Nepos in his life of Phocion 
repeats his opinion of their importance: " Neque ita multo post, 
" Nicanor Piraeo est potitus, sine quo Athence esse omnino non possunt" 
The object, in fact, both of the fortifications of the Piraeus and 
of the long walls, was to combine the very existence of Athens as 
a state, with that of its great naval arsenal, or in other words, to 
found its greatness on its maritime power. This policy of Themis- 
tocles is very plainly set forth by Thucydides : " Ta.7g yoi^ va.uo-i ^dxig-oc. 

44 7r^o<rejc£(TO, tSouv cog epoi SozeT, rvjg (3a,o~iXecog g-^ocrtag rqv za.rcc &<x.Xoco~o-ctv 

H '< J. ' / ~ V .' : «- ' \ \ i-r » - / ' f <j 

£(p000U iU7rO()Ci)T£()CX,U TTjg KCtTOi yrjV 0\)(TOtV TOV T£ llilgCUOi COtpBAlfAWTSgOV £V0[Al£e 

44 rvjg civco 7roX£zog xcti 7roXXocycig roig A&qV6ttoi§ TTctgyvei, qv a^ot, ttots kut-oL yvjv 
44 (2(cx.a'Bao~i i K.ocTct@ciUToig eg ctvrov y rctTg vctvo~i irpog -uTrccvrag Mv§io~Ta,(rS%t." 
And it was pursued by Pericles, under circumstances somewhat 
different, when- all apprehension of a Persian invasion, either by land, 
or by sea, had subsided. According to this policy, the empire of 
the land in any case of extremity which might happen, was to be 
abandoned ; but that of the sea, 07 SxXex.o-0-oxgxJia, was to be retained, 
because the greater part of the revenue of Athens, which was at 
this period derived from the island subsidies, (to the amount of 600 
talents,) depended upon this naval dominion. 



( 528 ) 



ON THE VALE OF TEMPE. 

[flF MR. HAWKINS.~] 

1 ke Vale of Tempe is generally known in Thessaly by the name 
of the Bogaz. * 

It is a pass of great natural as well as political importance ; for it 
affords an outlet for the accumulated waters of a large province, and 
forms the only road into it ; the pass by Velestin (the antient 
Pherae) excepted, which is not exceedingly difficult. 

It has therefore been celebrated in all ages as the scene of great 
events ; and has excited in modern times no small degree of 
curiosity. 

And yet, in spite of its superior claims to our attention, I 
know few objects in this part of the world which have been so 
seldom visited or described ; and I recollect no traveller before 
myself, who has deviated from his route, and made an excursion on 
purpose to view it.-f- 

This circumstance may be ascribed, in some measure, to the wild 
and insecure state of the country in which it is situated ; and in part, 
to the excessive heats which prevail there during the summer and 



* In the middle ages it was called the pass of Lycostomo. The title of the bishop of 
thed 

f Gyllius is, I believe, the first modern traveller who has visited Tempe. He says of it, 
" Vidi Pcnei ripas, quas amoenas efficiunt ilia nobilia Tempe Thessalica, in nemorosa 
convalle inter Ossam et Olympum sita, per quag media Peneus viridis Jabitur, amcena, ut 
dicuntur, sed angusta et brevia, undique montibus in altitudinem immensam elatis 
coarctata, ut terror adsit praetereuntibus." — De Bosph. Thr. lib. i. 



ON THE VALE OF TEMPE. , 529 

autumn ; when it is scarcely possible to escape those dreadful inter- 
mittent fevers, which are " the natural consequences of heat, fatigue, 
and marsh effluvia. 

Such was the result of the first attempt which I made to visit 
Thessaly in July 1795, when I had nearly fallen a victim to my 
temerity. * 

But in the year 1797? being more fortunate in the choice of the 
season, I was enabled most fully to gratify my curiosity. I landed 
at Volo on the 21st of May, and proceeded directly across the great 
plains of Thessaly to the vale of Tempe. The heat even now raised 
the thermometer at noon to 85°, but was not intolerable, nor was the 
air in any part of our route insalubrious. 

We spent six days at Ambelakia, a large Greek town which over- 
looks Tempe ; after which we ascended the summits of Pelion and 
Ossa, visiting the plains of Pharsalia on our return to Volo. We had 
been prevented by the fear of the plague from proceeding to Larissa, 
and the ruins of some old towns beyond it, a circumstance which we 
much regretted. 

My fellow-traveller, Mr. Randle Wilbraham, who had recently 
returned from Persia, was struck with the resemblance which the 
general aspect of Thessaly bore to the provinces of Ispahan and 
Hamadan. This resemblance, he said, was most conspicuous in the 
vast extent of these open plains ; in the bold rise as well as the bare 
and rocky surface of the mountains around them ; and in the nume- 
rous hills which emerge like so many islands out of their stagnant 
level. 

From the summit of Mount Ossa, (now called Kissavo,) we observed, 
how all the rivers of Thessaly poured themselves into the Peneus ; and 
in what manner the collected stream, in its course towards the gulf, 
forced its way through the high ridge on which we were seated. On 
its appearance again to the right of the mountains, we saw it 



* I mention this for the benefit of others. No English traveller can perambulate 
Greece with impunity in the months of July, August, and September. 

3 Y 



530 0N THE VALE OF TEMPE. 

meandering slowly through a plain of great fertility, which had been 
evidently formed by its alluvions, and which it seemed to quit with 
reluctance. 

The very hospitable reception which we met with at Ambelakia, as 
it enabled us to make four successive visits to the vale of Tempe 
beneath, afforded us ample leisure to survey this curious spot, and to 
make a series of accurate drawings. 

The Turkish word Bogaz, which signifies a pass or strait, is limited 
to that part of the course of the Peneus, where the vale is reduced to 
very narrow dimensions. 

This part, I think, answers to our idea of a rocky dell ; and is in 
length about two miles.* Travellers are prepared for their approach 
to it, by the gradual closing in of the mountains on each side of the 
river, and by a greater severity of character, which the scenery 
assumes around it. 

At a short distance from the mouth of the dell, some groves of 
the oriental plane-tree adorn the banks of the river ; and were the 
stream here as limpid as that of the Thames, or many other rivers in 
England, and the vegetation on either side of it as luxuriant, we 
might justly admit the truth of ^Elian's description. -f Not far 
beyond this spot, which has some degree of beauty, the river is seen 
to strike into the body of the ridge, where it is soon lost between the 
successive folds of the mountains. 



* This distance was computed by time and the rate of motion. 

f The breadth of the Peneus is generally about fifty yards. Its water was at this time 
very muddy, but is said to be much clearer in the latter part of the summer, and Brown, 
who was at Larissa in September, says, that Homer's epithet of dgyvgollvri is very applicable 
to this river, which has a clear stream. On the other hand, the Swedish traveller 
Biornstahl, who visited Larissa twice in the spring of the year, says, that the Peneus re- 
sembles the Tiber in its yellow colour, and that the inhabitants of that city, who have no 
other water, drink it after it has been kept a week in cisterns, where it deposits a sedi- 
ment. Biornstahl is certainly mistaken in the colour of the water, and I cannot give credit 
to the assertion of Brown that it is ever clear. 

It contains several sorts of fish, one of which, the KoAeavoj, the Collanus of Bclon, or 
Accipenser Huso of Linnaeus, is much esteemed for its delicate flavour, and grows to a 
very considerable size. 



ON THE VALE OF TEMPE. 



531 



The following extract from my Journal describes the remainder of 
the vale, or as it may be termed with more propriety, the Defile 
of Tempe. 

" The road through the Bogaz is chiefly the work of art, nature 
having left only sufficient room for the channel of the river. This 
road is, nevertheless, broad enough for the use of wheel-carriages ; 
and in some parts or its course consists of a paved causeway, which 
has been laid on the bank of the river ; whilst in others, it is a solid 
terrace of rock, hewn out of the base of the mountain. It is carried 
on for a great way, at the height of 20 or 30 feet above the river ; 
but towards the eastern end of the vale it rises much higher, in order 
to surmount the brows of some promontories which fall there 
precipitately, and without any basement, into the water. In short, 
it appears to have been conducted with as much attention to the ease 
and safety of passengers, as the nature of the ground would admit 
of ; and even, in its present neglected state, inspires a traveller with 
sufficient confidence, to contemplate the various features of the 
scenery. 

" This scenery, of which every reader of classical literature has 
formed so lively a picture in his imagination, consists of a dell or 
deep glen, the opposite sides of which rise* very steeply from the 
bed of the river. The towering height of these rocky and well- 
wooded acclivities above the spectator ; the contrast of lines exhibited 
by their folding successively over one another ; and the winding of 
the Peneus between them, produce a very striking effect ; which is 



* The Editor is obliged to Professor Gaisford for a copy of the following passage 
relating to Tempe, and now published for the first time from a manuscript of Nicetas, in 
the Bodleian library. The passage occurs in fol. 446. of the MS. and corresponds with 
p. 658. of Wolfius's edition, Genev. 1593. It follows the word Tep7re<rtv. 

*A tov irqveibv iroTotfiov og vvv votXatfiplcic cov 'fj^txcTOii eg to w«vt>j (TTevoTctTOv vvvdyowiv' cog xct) 
xa^A«£s»v ev TtoWoig eg ort ff-eycc to pofaov xcti Toig oyjiug rrj tcZv \J/6p«v oVt insist crvveirriyj'iv' 7rep\ 
he Taj tcov opwv xmofioKTsig fxlotv 7rotpa.volyovo~iv OLrpcaroV o~vvsTTTvyiJ.evr)v H«i t«ot»jv xai ^«A.£W)jv roig 
/3aSi^ouo"»v wcts m\ jt/.>)8' \itl Tea<roipcov a<r7r»8a>v auTiJv ava7JTue<r0a» uiro %erpu>v Aio"<r«oW xa) 
•7tOTa.iJ.lov psu/xaTOj eg to naMTeXwg cuv»ouo"av GTevoitopov. 

3 y 2 



532 



ON THE VALE OF TEMPE. 



heightened by the wildness of the whole view, and the deep shadows 
of the mountains. The eye, however, dwells with pleasure only on 
the Peneus. The full but silent stream of that river is bordered 
nearly in all its course through the dell by the Oriental plane-tree, 
which supports the wild-vine thickly interlaced among its branches, 
and dropping in festoons to the surface of the water. This beautiful 
parasite was at the season when we visited Tempe in full bloom, and 
scented the air with a delightful odour. About midway, a fountain 
of the coldest water gushes out at the foot of a rock, which forms the 
base of the causeway. Here travellers usually halt to refresh them- 
selves and their cavalry; while many repose here; or devour, as we 
did, the contents of their wallets ; cooling their wine in the chrystal 
fountain. 

" Just beyond this spot and adjoining to the road, are the ruins of a 
fortress of no very ancient date, which once, perhaps, guarded the 
pass ; but the peasants conceive it to be the monument of a princess, 
who met here with an untimely death, and in memory of whom, it is 
called to u^aTo ««Vpo or rqg upziijs to nag-pa. The remains of this old 
castle are situated at the mouth of a small dell, which is rendered in 
some degree remarkable by a ruined tower on the brow of a lofty 
cliff. One or two dells, of less magnitude, diversify this side of the 
river, as we proceed eastwards. 

" On the north side of the Peneus, the mass of rock is more entire, 
and the objects which strike the eye are altogether more bold, but 
perhaps less picturesque. 

" It is here, however, that the exposure of the strata suggests to the 
imagination some violent convulsion, which, in a period of the most 
remote antiquity, may have severed the ridge and drained the great 
basin of Thessaly." 

The above account of Tempe, which was written almost imme- 
diately after visiting that celebrated spot, will convey to my readers 
a faint, but no unfaithful representation of the scenery which I 
observed there. It is scarcely necessary for me to add, that the 
scenery itself by no means corresponds with the idea that has been 



ON THE VALE OF TEMPE 



533 



generally conceived of it ; and that the eloquence of iElian has 
given rise to expectations which the traveller will not find realised. 
In the fine description, which that writer has given us of Tempe, he 
seems to have misconceived the general character of its scenery, 
which is distinguished by an air of savage grandeur rather than by 
its beauty and amenity ; the aspect of the whole defile impressing 
the spectator with a sense of danger and difficulty, not of security 
and indulgence. In short, it is mortifying to be obliged to confess, 
that the highly-finished picture which iElian has left us of Tempe, 
is almost wholly an imaginary one ; and that even those which are 
sketched with so much force by Livy and Pliny bear no very marked 
resemblance.* Were it possible to set aside the impression made by 
these writers, and to divest this celebrated spot of all the historical 
importance which is attached to it, I even doubt, whether it would 
attract that notice, which has been bestowed on many vales of the 
same wild character in the west of Europe. 

But Tempe, had it even fewer pretensions to grandeur or beauty 
than it in reality possesses, would still be viewed with interest ; for it 
has been in all ages the theme of poetic encomium, and it is more- 
over connected with some of the greatest events in ancient history. 

We are told by Herodotus, that Xerxes advanced some way before 
his army, on purpose to survey this remarkable spot. Having 
enquired of his guides, how far it were practicable to turn the course 
of the Peneus ; and being assured there was no other passage by 
which that river could find an issue towards the sea, Thessaly being 
surrounded by mountains — " The Thessalians," said he, " act with 



* " Sunt Tempe saltus, etiamsi non bello fiat infestus, transitu difficilis, nam prseter 
angustias per quinque millia, qua exiguum jumento onusto iter est, rupes utrimque ita 
abscissae sunt, ut despici vix sine vertigine quadam simul oculorum animique possit ; 
terret et sonitus et altitudo per mediam vallem fluentis Penei amnis." JLvcii His. — " In eo 
cursu Tempe vocantur quinque mill, passuum longitudine, et ferme sesquijugeri latitudine, 
ultra visum hominis attollentibus se dextera laevaque leniter convexis jugis. Intus sua 
luce viridante adlabitur Peneus, viridis calculo, amcenus circa ripas gramine, canorus 
avium concentu." Plin. lib. iv. c. 8. 



534 



ON THE VALE OF TEMPE. 



prudence in not offering any resistance ; they seem to be aware of 
their own weakness ; for, by filling up this valley, I could lay their 
whole country under water." 

This boast, so hyperbolically expressive of the might of Xerxes, 
conveys a pretty accurate idea of the physical geography of Thessaly ; 
for the closure of Tempe alone, whether effected by the labour of an 
immense army, or by an earthquake, would undoubtedly cause an 
inundation so extensive, as to cover the whole eastern half of that 
country.* In this state of things, (if I may be allowed to carry on 
the supposition,) the first draught of the waters would be towards the 
Pagassean gulf.-f- But were they to rise so much higher, as to 
spread over the plains on the western side of Thessaly^:, they would 
ultimately find an issue between Pelion and Ossa, near the modern 
town of Aia. In this case, I conceive, that a range of hills which 
separates the two great level districts, would be the only part of the 
interior above water. § 

In reality, it is not possible to view the dead level of these ex- 
tensive plains, and the very compact barrier of mountains which 
surround them, without forming some idea of the existence of such 
a primaeval lake ; which, as it has been evidently drained off by the 
opening of Tempe, might be restored again by the closure of that 
passage. Nor would it be easy to explain the formation of Tempe 
itself, without attributing it, as the most ancient inhabitants of this 
country did, to the effect of some violent convulsion. And in this 
way, I think, we may account for all the traditional relations of such 
an event, to which Herodotus alludes. || 



* That is, Perrhaebia and Pelasgiotis. 

f Now the gulf of Volo. X Estiseotis. 

§ This range of hills connects Pherae and Pharsalia with Tricca and the towns which 
lie on the south-western borders of Macedonia. The battles of Cynocephalae and Phar- 
salia were fought on the skirts of these hills. 

|| Strabo, who loves to dwell upon subjects of this kind, repeats these very ancient 
traditions. 



ON THE VALE OF TEMPE. 



535 



I am further confirmed in this opinion on the origin of Tempe, 
by the marks of similar revolutions, which I observed in other 
mountainous districts of Greece. For instance, several of the 
rivers of Arcadia run through deep and narrow glens, which must 
have been formed in the same manner. One of these, the Ladon, 
bursts its way through a vast chasm ; which is reported to be several 
miles in length, and has the appearance of being inaccessible to a 
human being.* The Gortynius and the Neda, two other Arcadian 
rivers, run through glens, the steep and lofty sides of which almost 
conceal their course from the view of the traveller. But the most 
remarkable chasm of this description, which occurred to my notice, 
is that, which is known in Crete by the name of the Pharangi, 
Quyuyyi (from the old word <t>«pa-j<|). The whole body of a mountain 
there, appears to have been rent asunder from the top to the bottom ; 
the two sides of the fissure which form a narrow pass of four miles in 
length, threatening to close over the head of the adventurous 
traveller. It was by this formidable defile that I visited Sfackia ; and 
I still feel the impression which it made upon me.-f 

To recur to the history of Tempe, which has been necessarily in- 
terrupted by these reflections on its origin. Whatever may have been 
the motive which induced Xerxes to view in person the defile of 
Tempe, it does not appear from what Heredotus says, that he had 
any intention of making use of it for the passage of his army ; and 
indeed, it would be absurd to suppose this:}:; but the line of his 
march had been already settled ; he was to cross the mountains into 
the country of the Perrhasbians, in the direction of the town of 
Gonnos ; for that, says Herodotus, had been pointed out to him as 
the best route. On his return from Tempe, Xerxes remained some 



* It is at a short distance above the ruins of Telphusa. 

+ I was above two hours immured in the Pharangi, the ascent being in some places 
very rapid and much encumbered every where with the fragments of the fallen rock. It 
is mentioned by Pococke, who passed through it. 

% When the very confined breadth of the road is considered. 



536 



ON THE VALE OF TEMPE. 



time in Pieria ; whilst one-third of his army were employed as 
pioneers, in clearing the way over the mountains. 

The Thessalians, however, some time before this, when Xerxes was 
preparing to cross the Hellespont, seem to have been of opinion 
that he would attempt to penetrate into their country by the pass of 
Tempe ; and the confederated army of the Greeks whom they had 
invoked to their assistance, had, in compliance with their advice, 
actually taken post in that situation. They remained there but a few 
days, for being secretly apprised by the son of the King of Macedonia, 
of the overwhelming force which would be brought to act against 
them; and hearing at the same time, that there was another practicable 
way into Thessaly across the mountains, they judged the attempt to 
defend it would prove both useless and unavailing, and retreated to 
Thermopylae, upon which the Thessalians reluctantly joined the 
standard of the invader. 

It was accordingly by this route across the mountains that Xerxes 
marched into Thessaly ; and there are two passages of Herodotus 
which point out the line of his march. Both of these mention 
Gonnos, as the point to which it led ; and Macedonia, as the country 
from which it proceeded. But in one of these passages, we find the 
designation of Upper Macedonia, which creates some difficulty ; for 
if Gonnos was the same town as the Gonni of a later period, of 
which, T think, there can be little doubt, the army must have 
began their march from the Lower, not the Upper Macedonia. Now 
Gonni is often mentioned by Livy, and the following passage of his 
36th book describes the march of a Roman army, (if I am not 
greatly mistaken,) by the same route as is pointed out by Herodotus. 
After mentioning the irruption of Antiochus and the iEtolians into 
Thessaly, and their arrival before the walls of Larissa, which was 
then in the interest of Philip and the Romans, " M. Bcebius interim, 
cum Philippo in Dassaretiis congressus, Ap. Claudium ex communi 
comilio ad presidium Larissce misit, qui per Macedoniam magnis 
itineribus in Jugum monlium, quod super Gonnos est, pervenit. Oppidum 
Gonni viginti millia ab Larissa abest, in ipsis faucibus saltus, quce Tempe 



ON THE VALE OF TEMPE. 



537 



appellantur, situm." The object of the Roman general being to 
relieve Larissa, it is evident; that no time was to be lost ; and what- 
ever may have been his reason for not taking a shorter road towards 
that city ; or for not passing through the defile of Tempe, when he 
was so near it; (Gonni, which commanded the pass, being at that 
time in the possession of the, Romans or their allies ;) yet, it is plain 
that he reached Perrhaabia at the same point, and must have crossed 
the ridge of mountains in the same direction as Xerxes. 

In the subequent war with Perseus, the Romans seem to have 
acquired the knowledge of several practicable roads across the 
mountains, to the north as well as the south of Olympus ; and by 
one of these Quinctius Flaminius was fortunate enough to penetrate 
into that country ; but the narrative of this transaction is so obscure, 
that it is impossible to fix with any degree of precision the line of 
his march. It appears, however, to have been a very difficult and 
desultory one. 

At the present day, travellers, instead of passing through Tempe, 
not unfrequently take the road over the mountains to the north of 
that pass, which leads through the populous Greek town of Rapsiani 

I shall conclude these remarks on the history of Tempe, with 
observing, that the ruins of a fortified town, which I suppose to be 
Gonni, are still visible on the brow of a rocky hill, which commands 
the western entrance of the defile. It is hardly necessary for me to 
observe that these ruins are on the road side of the river, that is, on 
the right; and not on the left, where a fortified post would have been 
useless ; but where nevertheless, on the authority of the above passage 
of Livy, it has been generally placed in the maps of ancient Greece. 

As there is a classical interest attached to every thing which 
belongs to Tempe, I shall subjoin a list of some of the plants which 
I observed there. 

Laurus nobilis, the Bay. 

Punica granatum, the Pomegranate. 

3 z 



538 



ON THE VALE OF TEMPE. 



Jasminum fruticans, the yellow Jasmine. 
Vitex Agnus castus, the Chaste-tree. 
Cercis siliquastrum, the Judas-tree. 
Quercus Ilex, the evergreen Oak. 
Quercus coccifera, the Kermes Oak. 
Olea Europ&a, the wild Olive. 

Arbutus Andrachne, the smooth-barked Strawberry-tree. 
Arbutus unedo, the common Strawberry-tree. 
Vitis vinifera, the wild Vine. 
Platanus orientalis, the oriental Plane-tree. 
Pistacia terebinthus, Turpentine-tree. 
Fraxinus Ornus, the true Manna Ash. 
Phillyrea, (the several varieties). 
Zizyphus Paliurus, Christ' s-thorn. 
Spartium junceum, Spanish-broom. 
Colutea arborescens, Bladder-Senna. 
Coronilla Emerus, Scorpion-Senna. 
Coronilla glauca or Securidaca. 

A species of Lonicera, ditto of Clematis, and the white 
garden-lilly, which had not then expanded its petals, but 
flowered completely in my tin box eight days afterwards. 
1 found neither the myrtle nor the oleander. What iElian says 
of the KiTTog or ivy, and the <rplxu%, (the Smilax aspera of Linneeus,) 
is untrue, for the former does not grow there, and the latter grows 
in a very different way from what he represents. 



( 539 ) 



, N . v ON THE 

SYRINX OF STRABO, 

AND 

THE PASSAGE OF THE EURIPUS. 

[£Y MR. HAWKINS.} 

In the very short description which Strabo has transmitted to us of 
the celebrated Straits of the Euripus, there is an expression which has 
long exercised the ingenuity of critics, without having received any 
very clear or satisfactory explanation. The words of the geographer 
are the following: — "Eg-' F lif uutu yetpu^a SiW-^^'og *> «V el'gvjxa' iriioydsS' 
tKUTeguBtv etpe^yxev, 6 f4.lv sjc rijg XdXKtdog, o $ sk. rvjg Boi&otioci;' $itijc<tMfii]Tcit 

$ik duTov <rv(>ty%. Here, I believe, with the exception of dbroV, for 
which some critics have substituted oIvtous, the purity of the text has 
been generally admitted, but the meaning is nevertheless obscure, 
because the term ru^f seems not to be used in its ordinary accept- 
ation ; the passage accordingly has been variously rendered by 
translators, nearly all of whom have avoided giving any precise inter- 
pretation of the term <rv(>iy%, without which the whole is unintel- 
ligible. 

We are indebted to Isaac Vossius f for the first successful attempt 
to remove this obscurity, by pointing out the true meaning of the 
verb which is here put in connection with <ru^y|. " Ammidf^sfv" he 



* Two plethra amount to one hundred and seventy-one French feet, which may be 
stated as about twice the present breadth of the Euripus ; according to Spons's evaluation 
it is ninety-one French feet, while Gyllius estimates it at seventy-three French feet only. 
No dependence can be placed on the accuracy of these measurements, which are unfortu- 
nately the only ones that have been taken by modern travellers. 

f Observ. ad P. Melam. lib. xi. c. 7- 

3 Z 2 



540 



ON THE SYRINX OF STRABO, 



says, " proprie est cedificationem separare et dividere, locumque intenne- 
dium vacuum relinquere. Dicit itaque Strabo, pontem istum Euripi non 
esse continuum, neque perpetuis fulciri fornicibus, sed ab ea parte qua est 
turris litori JBceotico vicina, habere ^unum canalem, qui sit apertus, quem- 
que prcesidiarii turris ponte pensili soleant tegere, turn securitatis gratia, 
turn etiam ut navibus pateat transitus." 

The two towers of Strabo are thus very properly disposed opposite 
to each other, and with a navigable passage between them, instead of 
one being placed on the shore of Bceotia and the other on that of 
Eubcea, with the mole or long bridge between, as some commentators 
and translators have conceived ; but why this fortified passage should 
be assigned to the Boeotian side in preference to the other, we are 
left to conjecture, nor is a word said to account for the very singular 
use which is here made of the term <rv^y% to designate a navigable 
canal between two towers. 

It appears then that the passage thus simply considered by itself, is 
susceptible of no farther explanation than what Vossius has given to 
it, and it is only by examining it in an historical point of view, with 
all the aids which may be derived from a local acquaintance with the 
spot, that we can hope for any success. 

Most fortunately there is a passage in Diodorus * which supplies in a 
great measure this deficiency ; for it relates upon what particular occa- 
sion this work was constructed, the immediate purpose which it was 
designed to answer, and the manner in which it was executed. After 
his account of the naval engagement in the Hellespont, and the vic- 
tory gained there by the Athenians, Diodorus proceeds as follows : 
" The Chalcidians, however, and almost all the inhabitants of Eubcea, 
had separated themselves in the mean while from the Athenian alli- 
ance, on which account they were very fearful lest their towns might 
be besieged and taken by the Athenians, who were now again become 
masters of the sea. A proposal therefore was made to the Boeotians 
to unite with them in the enterprize of damming up the Euripus, and 



* Lib. xiii. 173. 



AND THE PASSAGE OF THE EURIPUS. 



541 



connecting Eubcea with Boeotia. To this the Boeotians, who felt how 
much it was for their interest that Eubcea should be an island to all 
others but themselves, assented. Wherefore all the cities around con- 
curred cheerfully in this undertaking, animating each other by their 
mutual example ; and not only were all the natives called out upon 
this occasion, but even the strangers who sojourned with them, so 
that by means of the multitude employed about it the work was soon 
completed. A mole (^w^a), therefore, was formed on the side of 
Eubcea near Chalcis, and on the side of Bceotia near Aulis ; for this 
was the narrowest part. 

" It is to be observed that there had been always a current in this 
place and frequent changes of the tides, but now the violence of these 
became much greater, the sea being confined within a narrow space, 
for a passage was left for one vessel only. 

" They constructed likewise high towers on the ends of the two 
moles, and laid wooden bridges over the currents between."* 

The above narrative would convey to us a very clear idea of the 
construction of the mole, were it not for the inconsistency observable 
in the last sentence of the description. This arises from the use of 
the plural in the words " bridges and currents ;" when from all that 
precedes it is evident that there could have been only one bridge and 
one current or passage for the water. Nor can we get rid of this dif- 
ficulty by a conjectural emendation, for the text bears no marks of 
corruption. 

We are left, therefore, to the choice of two meanings, and in adopt- 
ing that which naturally results from the former part of the narrative, 
we shall best reconcile Diodorus with himself as well as with Strabo. 

I shall therefore take for granted that the %<%a or mole, in reality, 
left only one passage for vessels between the two opposite shores, and 
that this passage was fortified by two towers, between which there 
was a bridge of wood. 



* '.QxoS'pjtrav Se xa.) itvqyoxig wJ/»jXoiij hit upfOTegcov twv axgwv, xct\ t-v?Jva$ tq~i; foappoig 



542 ON THE SYRINX OF STRABO, 

Such was the original plan of this great work, which was executed 
in the second year of the ninety-second olympiad, and in the twenty- 
first year of the Peloponnesian war. (Dodwell.) Some alterations, we 
are told by Strabo, lib. x., were made by the Chalcidians at the period 
when Alexander marched into Asia, both in the fortifications of the 
town and in those of the mole ; but in Strabo's time, or about four 
hundred years afterwards, it appears, from the very short description 
which he gives, to have been pretty much in the same state as when 
it was first constructed, although the term yMfvga is substituted for 
X^f-a in both passages, and the new and very unusual term cv^iyfc is 
made use of to designate a part of the work which I shall now proceed 
to consider. 

In the first place, then, we must admit that the term a-v^y^ evi- 
dently applies to the navigable passage described by Diodorus, which 
Strabo would not have passed over unnoticed. In the next place, 
taking it in its usual acceptation, it conveys an idea of a circular or 
cylindrical passage of some kind or other. 

The obvious result of this is, that the Syrinx must have been a sort 
of tunnel, which is precisely the form which a civil engineer in these 
days would have recommended for this purpose. 

Nor is there any difficulty in supposing that such must have been 
the construction of this passage in the time of Strabo, when the use of 
the arch was well known ; although it may be necessary, with a view 
to establish this hypothesis, to point out in a practical way the mode 
of its application. Let us suppose, then, that two towers are to be 
built at the two opposite ends of such a mole, and that a navigable 
passage is to be left between, while some mode of communication is 
required above. It is evident that the foundation of the two walls 
contiguous to the passage ought to be laid on an inverted arch, there 
being no other effectual mode of giving it any stability. The com- 
munication above might be effected by the means of a moveable or 
an immoveable bridge. The Pvomans would undoubtedly in most 
cases have chosen the latter, and when we consider the importance 
which they attributed to this passage in a military point of view, it is 



AND THE PASSAGE OF THE EURIPUS. 



543 



probable that such was the construction which they adopted. It is hardly 
necessary to add that the two opposite arches would form a tunnel. 

The term Syrinx, however, could not with propriety have been ap- 
plied to a passage which was not truly cylindrical, i. e. where the 
length of the passage was not greater than its diameter ; and we have 
no other way of getting over this difficulty than by supposing that a 
more than usual breadth was given to the two towers in this direction, 
which is by no means inconsistent with the purpose for which they 
were built.* 

After all, however, that can be said upon this subject, I confess that 
it amounts to no more than a plausible hypothesis, which every critic 
is at liberty to adopt or reject, although the form of the present bridge 
over the Euripus tends rather to confirm it. 

This bridge is evidently built on the x*>, uct °f Diodorus, and al- 
though of a barbarous style of construction, suggests an idea of its 
ancient plan. The western end, or that which is contiguous to 
Boeotia, has five small ill-shaped arches, which give a passage to the 
shallow part of the current. The navigable passage is at the eastern end, 
and this is flanked as well as fortified by two opposite square towers, 
between which there is a communication by means of a draw-bridge. 

The tower on the eastern side of this canal projects far beyond the 
line of the city wall; but as this wall is washed by the current, and the 
ground within it is very low, it is not improbable that the west side 
of the city covers the eastern segment of the x&fia, which will account 
for the canal or navigable passage being now no longer in the middle 
of the Euripus f, although I am inclined to think that it must always 
have been nearer to the walls of Chalcis than to the shore of Bceotia, 
for the purpose of a better system of defence. 

I shall conclude with observing that the tower supporting the 
western half of the draw-bridge is connected with a small fort, which 
extends in length far to the southward of the line described by the 
two bridges. J 

* See the engraved plan which follows. f Vide note * in p. 539. 

% I find the history of this fort in the following passage of the Latin version of 
Nicetas : " Postremo Eubcea quoque omissa defensione, supphces ad Marchionem ma- 



544 



ON THE SYRINX OF STRABO, 




BCEOTI A. 




EUBQBA. 



In the preceding attempt to explain the Syrinx of Strabo, I have 
noticed only such particulars in the passage of Diodorus, as might 
assist in explaining the meaning of that term. I shall now observe 
that Diodorus has not very clearly or fully expressed what were the 
reasons for constructing the mole. The Chalcidians, he says, together 
with almost all the inhabitants of Eubcea, had abandoned the 
Athenian interest, but upon the unexpected restoration of the naval 
superiority of that power, in consequence of their victory over the 
Lacedaemonian fleet in the Hellespont, they became justly appre- 
hensive of measures of hostility. A proposal therefore was made to 
the Boeotians to concur with them in closing the passage of the 
Euripus, and in joining the island by these means to the opposite 
continent. 

The proposal, he adds, appeared to be so advantageous to the 
common interest, that the work was immediately begun and carried 
on with so much spirit, that in a short time it was completed. 



nus tendit; et exercitui Euripo concitatiori pontem substernit, et in ipso freto castellum 
aedificatum, in eoquc sedentem exercitum cernit." He is relating the rapid successes of 
Boniface, Marquis of Montferrat, in Greece, at the commencement of the 13th century. 



AND THE PASSAGE OF THE EURIPUS. 



545 



Now, it is evident that the closing of the passage of the Euripus 
alone, could not prevent the Athenians from over- running the island, 
at least, that portion of it which lay to the south of Chalcis ; nor 
could it prevent Chalcis itself from being invested by land. We must 
therefore conclude the meaning of Diodorus to have been, that when 
a communication of this kind was opened between the island and 
the main, it would be impossible for the Athenians to prevent the 
Boeotians from succouring their allies in Euboea, as they had hitherto 
done. And this I conceive to have been the direct and immediate 
object in view when the work was undertaken. There was another 
object however of infinite importance, which could not have been 
overlooked when the work was projected, and this was the intercep- 
tion of all communication between Athens and the north of Greece, 
Thessaly, and Macedonia, during a great part of the year. 

To explain this supposition, it will be necessary to state some 
peculiar circumstances in the navigation of the iEgean, which have 
been little attended to by the ancient as well as modern writers on the 
affairs of Greece. 

There were two seasons of the year when the open navigation of 
this sea must have been either subject to great obstructions, or wholly 
interdicted to the Greeks ; namely, the season of the Etesian winds, 
which prevail about four months of the summer and autumn, when 
all attempts to proceed northwards must have been fruitless ; and the 
season of winter which was deemed too perilous. 

These remarks however, apply only to the open navigation of the 
JEgean, for there was still a very practicable passage in the worst 
seasons for vessels, between the main land and the neighbouring 
island of Euboea, where the smoothness of the water enabled them 
to take every advantage of local winds and the land breezes. I speak 
here from personal experience, having myself navigated the two 
Euboean gulfs in all seasons, the spring excepted, without any material 
obstacle or impediment. 

On the other hand, the ancients appear to have had a singular 
dread of the passage round the Capharean promontory*, and they 



* " Et Euboicse cautes, ultorque Caphareus." iEneid, lib. xi. 

4 A 



546 



ON THE SYRINX OF STRABO, 



must have regarded the whole eastern coast of Euboea, while the 
Etesian winds blowed, as a most dangerous lee-shore. For here, if I 
mistake not, were the tremendous hollows (x,oi\a, Coela) of Euboea, 
where a detachment of the Persian fleet were wrecked ; and even at 
this day, the navigators of these seas carefully avoid all approach to 
an iron-bound coast, which in a line of about thirty leagues presents 
only one place of shelter for a ship in distress.* 

The harbour f which is thus situated, being little frequented by 
the Greeks, was wholly unknown to navigators from the west of 
Europe, before I visited this inhospitable coast in the autumn of 
1797, for the purpose of carrying on a series of triangles along the 
eastern side of Greece. After surveying this harbour, I was anxious 
to proceed round Cavo d'Oro (Caphareus), but such was the hollow 
form of the coast on my right, and so great the danger of being 
forced on a lee-shore, that the captain of the vessel (a polacre of 
Ipsera) thought it not adviseable to attempt weathering that cape, until, 
at the end of two days, the violence of the northerly wind (Etesian) 
had a little abated. ij: 

In proposing a new explanation of the Coela of Euboea, I have 
ventured to differ from some of the latest and best writers on ancient 
geography, such as D'Anville, Larcher, and Barbie du Boccage ; but 
when it is considered how greatly the actual examination of a country 
must assist in clearing up the obscurities of its ancient geography, I 
trust I shall be acquitted of presumption ; more especially when 
we observe how much the reports of ancient geographers are at 
variance with each other, and how many corruptions have been 
introduced into the text of their works. Even Strabo and his 
epitomiser are at variance upon this point, the former assigning to 



* Kingsbergcn observes, that, " on the whole north-eastern coast there is no landing- 
place. It is even dangerous to approach that shore." This is the observation of a sea- 
man, but it is not strictly correct. 

f Now called by the Greeks TleTgicu;. 

\ On my return to England I communicated to Mr. Arrowsmith the corrected form of 
this coast and the situation of this unknown harbour, which were engraved in his new map 
of the Ottoman empire. 



AND THE PASSAGE OF THE EURIPUS. 



547 



the Coela a situation between Aulis and Geraestus, and the latter 
placing them between Geraestus and Caphareus. 

To prove how groundless the former supposition is, it will be only 
necessary to remark, that the coast of Euboea on this side presents a 
series of noble harbours and roadsteads, without a shoal or sunken 
rock, and that in most winds it is distinguished by the smoothness of 
its water. 

There is a passage indeed, in Valerius Maximus (lib. i. c. 8.) which 
countenances the idea of the Coela having been on this side. " In 
earn regionem secessit, quce inter Rhamnunta nobilem Attici soli partem, 
Caristumque Chalcidis freto vicinam interjacens, Ccelce Eubceoe nomen 
obtinet." But the situation here assigned, as I have already observed, 
so far from being dangerous to shipping, which was the character of 
the Coela, affords every where the securest anchorage-ground. 

The epitomiser of Strabo, too, must be equally mistaken ; for the 
Coela could not have been on a coast of so convex a form as that 
between the the promontories of Geraestus and Caphareus. A much 
better authority in favour of this hypothesis is adduced by Larcher, 
in a passage of the Troad of Euripides, v. 84. U.\vi<rov h venpuv koIXov 
'EvjSoiag pvxov ; in allusion to the vessels of Ajax, which, on their return 
from Troy, were shipwrecked on the promontory of Caphareus*; and 
in the words cited by him from the scholia of Tzetzes on Lycophron, 
we find the Coela actually placed in the neighbourhood of f Capha- 
reus. It is remarkable that both Philostratus and Euripides, make 
use of the expressions, rvjv KciXqv "Evfiotuv and xoTXov 'Evfioiag ^x° v > 
which are more agreeable to the hypothesis that I have ventured to 
propose. Having now proved how ungrounded every other idea of 
their position has been, I shall produce two ancient authorities which 
place the Coela in that which I have assigned to them. 

The first is Ptolemy, who 'in his description of the coast of Euboea 

* Homer says only on the Gyrse, without mentioning where they were situated. Odyss. 
lib. iv. The coast of Cavo d'Oro is bristled with rocks and islets. 

f 'H\J/s tpqvxTov wsgi rot xoiXx Ttjs Eu/3o/«f v.cti ov sho^sv Kottyeea* Scholia Tzetzae, Ed. 
Miiller. p. 573. 

4 a 2 



548 



ON THE SYRINX OF STRABO, 



mentions next after the port of Gersestus the promontory of 
Caphareus, and then the Coela of Euboea. The other is Livy, 
who after describing the capture of Oreus by Attalus and the Romans, 
observes, " that as the autumnal equinox was drawing near, and as 
that bay of Euboea, which they call Coela, was by sailors reputed 
dangerous, it was judged expedient to return without delay to the 
Piraeus." * By the context it appears that at this time Chalcis was 
in the possession of their enemies, their fleet therefore could not pass 
through the Euripus, and as no other course remained towards the 
Piraeus, but along the eastern coast of Euboea, it is there, and there 
only, that we must look for the bay denominated Coela. 

The near connection of the Coela with the promontory of Caphareus, 
has been already proved by a series of quotations, for which I am 
indebted to Larcher ; but I am sorry to differ as to the meaning 
which he has assigned to the term Ta clxpa. tv}? 'EvQetzs ; instead of 
designating the rocks near the promontory of Caphareus, the words 
more probably refer to the heights of Euboea. 

Having now explained what I conceive to have been the main 
object of the fortification of the Euripus, I shall produce some 
further proofs of its importance. 

We learn from history, with what vigilance the Athenians for a 
long series of years maintained their sovereign influence over the 
vassal states of Euboea ; and of what importance they regarded this 
connection, we have two most convincing proofs in the popular feeling 
at Athens, excited at two different periods by the news of its rupture. 
The first happened upon the occasion already mentioned, or rather 
just before it, when, after the destruction of the Athenian fleet at 
Eretria, the Lacedaemonians caused all the cities of Euboea to 
revolt, f Thucydides informs us that the consternation produced at 

* Jam autumnalc aequinoctium instabat ; et est sinus Euboicus quem Coela vocant, 
suspcctus nautis ; itaque ante hyemalcs motus evadcre inde cupientes, Pirseum, unde profecti 
ad bellum erant, repetunt. — Liv. lib. xxxi. c. 47- 

+ In the twenty-first year of the war, the departure of the Lacedaemonian force exposed 
the cities of Eubcea to the vengeance of the Athenians, and suggested the immediate ne- 
cessity of fortifying the Euripus. 



AND THE PASSAGE OF THE EURIFUS. 



549 



Athens by the news of this disaster was greater than had ever before 
been known there, greater even than that which was occasioned by 
the destruction of nearly all their forces, both naval and military in 
Sicily ; " not only," says he, " on account of their fleet, but what was of 
more importance, the loss of Eubcea, IP %q -nXilu q r^g Xflucvig wtpiXovpjo, 
on which they were more dependent for their supplies of provisions 
than even on Attica." L. viii. c. xcvi. The second happened in the 
105th olympiad, when in consequence of the revolt of Rhodes, Chios, 
Byzantium, Cos, and Caria, from the sovereignty of Athens, Eubcea 
entered into a close connection with Thebes, and renounced her 
alliance with Athens, the receipt of which intelligence there pro- 
duced such an effect on the public spirit, as stimulated it to make an 
exertion till then unparalleled, with a view to re-establish its do- 
minion. 

Now, the loss of subsidies and of a supply of provisions from the 
single island of Eubcea, will not sufficiently account for the feeling 
here described, unless we add to these assigned causes, the prospect 
of having all communication cut off between Athens and the northern 
parts of Greece and Macedonia ; that is, all power of co-operating 
with their allies in those parts, and of procuring from them any 
farther supplies of grain, naval stores *, &c. f In this enlarged sense, 
then, I take the passage above quoted from Thucydides %, the loss of 
Eubcea alone, unconnected with the free navigation of the Eubcean 
gulfs and of the Euripus, not being sufficient to account for the 



* Vide Thucyd. 1. iv. 108. with regard to ship timber. 

f And in this way its importance appears to have been estimated in subsequent times by 
the Romans. 64 Ut terra Thermopylarum angustiae Greciam, ita muri fretum Euripi 
clandit." Liv. lib. xxxi. c. 23. Chalcis, Corinth, and Demetrias were called by Philip 
the fetters of Greece. 

\ There is another remarkable passage in this Historian relating to Eubcea ; it is 
that (1. 3.) wherein he mentions the planting the colony of Heraclea in Trachenia by 
the Lacedaemonians ; who among other objects, intended to intercept the communication 
between Athens, Thrace, and Macedonia : K«» ajtca tov 7rgo; AQyvuiouc 7ro\sjxov xukwc Scuroic 
eloxn i) 71-o'Aij xa$/<rra<70«r Itti ts yag rij 'Eu/3o'i« vatmxov 7r«gacr>csua<r0>)i'a< av, m<rr ex. f3gx%eos 



550 



PANORAMIC VIEW OF ATHENS. 



alarm * occasioned by the news of its defection. In confirmation 
of which, I shall observe that Eubcea, if we except the two plains of 
Oreus and Lelantus, could never have been a fruitful island, nor could 
the produce of the plain of Lelantus alone, or even that of the two 
plains, have been sufficient for the main supply of such a population 
as that of Attica. 

If we take this view of the Euripus, we shall be at no loss to 
account for the importance attached by the Athenians at all periods, 
to the possession of a fortified sea-port, on so remote a part of their 
frontier as Oropus, or for the reasons which induced the Thebans, 
when they had captured that town, to remove it seven stadia from 
the sea. 



PANORAMIC VIEW OF ATHENS ILLUSTRATED 

BY W. HAYGARTH, ESQ. 

The hill of Musaeus is a rocky ridge of land to the S. W. of the 
Acropolis ; Athens with the most celebrated of its ruins, the Saronic 
gulf, the shores of Argolis, the citadel of Corinth, and the distant 
mountains of the Peloponnesus, names awakening a thousand 
interesting associations, are visible from its summit. During my 
residence at Athens, I employed some of my time in making a sketch 
of the surrounding scene. The plates containing the panoramic view 
are faithful copies of it. Beginning on the right hand of plate first, 
I shall proceed in my description towards the left. The reader will 
be able to find every place very exactly by marking the intersection 



* It is true indeed that the defection of Euboea took place at a time when the Lacedae- 
monians, by having gained the ascendancy on the sea, were able to intercept the supplies of 
corn which the Athenians drew from the Thracian Chersonesus and the Euxine, and this 
may have rendered the loss even of a small supply from Eubcea very sensible; but their 
chief supply on this side of the iEgaean, as I have observed, must have been derived 
through the FMripus, from Macedonia. 



I 



K 




/;. filer //. 542. 




■flats 11. 



vrVfJfateFnoster Ron-. 




tpndon Ptiblis/ud Octft&rtij.b) 



To p. 642 
A 




To face /'. 6.j2. 



- 6 




Etzk* hv Owner. 

Plate W. 



PANORAMIC VIEW OF ATHENS. 



551 



of two imaginary lines, one drawn from the figures at the side, the 
other from the letters at the top of the plate. The right side of 
Plate II. connects with the left of Plate I., and continues the subject. 

Plate I. Aspect from N. E. to N. W. 

A. 1. Part of Hymettus. This mountain is now famous, as it was 
formerly, for the honey produced from the flowers on it. Strabo, 1. ix. 
580. Its quarries also were equal to those of Pentelicus. Paus. 1. 

B. 2. Entrance to the Stadium Panathenaicum. It was built of 
Pentelican marble, Paus. 1. i. The form is tolerably perfect ; but 
the seats are destroyed ; and of the prodigious quantity of marble 
used, according to Pausanias, in its construction, only some broken 
fragments remain. 

A. 3. The situation of the fountain Enneakrounos. " Thucyd. 1. ii. 

A. 4. The bed of the Ilissus. It is now quite dry, except after the 
storms of winter. It was not very deep anciently, for Socrates and 
his companion, and Plato, speak of walking through it barefoot. 
Plato, Phaed. The banks of the Ilissus are now almost entirely destitute 
of buildings, although anciently adorned with temples ; nor are they 
overshadowed, as formerly, with planes. See Paus. i., and consult 
Plato's beautiful description of the scenery in its vicinity, in Phaedro. 

[The manner in which the Ilissus is mentioned by the ancient 
writers, does not lead us to suppose that it was a constant or regular 
stream. " What a flow of words is here (says Cratinus, speaking of 
an orator,) " Ilissus is in his throat." These expressions refer rather 
to a torrent, than an equable current of water. As however the 
rocky channel near the town, according to Mr. Raike's observation, 
seems to have been widened and formed by art, the stream anciently 
may have been more abundant than it is at present. 

Wheler in three different parts of his work mentions the waters 
of the Eridanus and Ilissus being collected together, and carried 
under ground to supply the city ; 352. 378. 450. Thucydides 



552 



PANORAMIC VIEW OF ATHENS. 



speaks of the xpfrau * or artificial fountains, as well as of the <Ppea.T<x 
of Athens ; and the former must have been supplied from the waters 
of the neighbouring mountains. Dicsearchus indeed says, y\ <? v e noXiq 
6vk svvSoog ; but his words may refer to the country of Attica ; and not 
to the city, as Gataker • j - has remarked ; and applied in that sense, 
his observation is true ; for Attica has few streams of water. 

It is singular that the word Callirhoe should still be retained ; t* 
Trpa^fta hai X K«XA<ppo^ ! said some of the inhabitants of Athens to an 
English traveller, when a greater quantity of water than usual was 
running at the spot, after a heavy rain. 

We may here notice the wrong application made by Chandler, 
p. 111., of a passage in Statius, (Theb. L iv.) to the Uissus of Attica; 
anfractu riparum incurvus Ilissus. The poet is speaking of a river in 
the Peloponnesus. See Hemsterh. ad Plutum, p. 182.] Ed. 

D. 2. The ruins of the temple of Jupiter Olympius. From Pausa- 
nias's description, 1. i., I should infer that there was a large precinct 
in this quarter occupied by several other buildings. 

E. 6. The arch of Hadrian connecting New with Old Athens. 

E. 7. Course of the Eridanus, which falls into the Ilissus a little 
below. Paus. and Plato in Crit. 

F. 8. The situations of the gardens, and temple of Venus. (Paus. 
1. i.) The modern village 'A^7reXoK^7ro, which stands nearly on the 
site of the gardens, retains in its present name a memorial of the 
ancient FCHriOJ. 

G. 5. The Lycseum. It was formerly laid out in groves and 
gardens, (Ovid. Meta. xi. 710.) and was also used as a place for 



* Meto is said in Phrynichus, clyeiv raj xpvjvaj. Mercav 6 Aevxovoev; oS' 6 t«j x^vug ccycov. 
— See Heringa, Observ. Crit. 34. 

f ltegio (ita noXiv, capio, 7roMv, p^wpav, Hesych.) arida tota est, nec aquis irrigata. — 
Adv. Post. cxiv. 

J I have written evui (used by the modern Greek for Iot»), instead of ehxi ; svai occurs in 
Bessarion's letter, for the singular number, and f<v«i for the plural; and in the catalogue of 
♦he Madrid MSS. in Cod. lvi. p. ] 84. evai is written by Lascaris's own hand, hat rj evspysa-ix. 
But in the Prolegomena of Longinus to the Enchirid. of Hephaestio, c. 2., we find ehai, 
which the scribe has inadvertently placed in the text for hrl. — See Gaisford's Hephaes. 143, 



PANORAMIC VIEW OF ATHENS. 553 

military exercises. Aristoph. Pax. 354. Close to Lycaeum was the 
gate of Diocharis, and fountains of water. (Strabo, 1. ix.) We may 
here remark, that the situation of the Lycseum may assist us in 
finding the frontier town of Decelea ; the Lycasum was in a direct 
line between that place and Athens ; Agis leading out his troops 
from Decelea against the Athenians, was met by the army of the latter 
under under Thrasylus at the Lyceum. Xenop. Hell. i. c. 1. 

H. 8. The site probably of Cynosarges. Diog. Laer. 1. vi. c. 1. 
There was a temple sacred to Hercules in it, Paus. 1. i., near which 
the Athenians, after the battle of Marathon, encamped in their way 
to Athens. Herod. 1. vii. 

F. 9. The road to Marathon, passing at the foot of Mount Hymettus. 

F. 1. The beginning of the range of Pentelicus. 

F. 2. Part of the modern town of Athens. The whole space to 
the south of the Acropolis, between it and the Ilissus, was formerly 
covered with temples and other edifices, as well as the part to the 
north of the rock. Thucy. 1. 2. Plato in Crit. Dion. Chrys. Orat. vi. 

I. 6. Round this point of the rock is the site of an ancient theatre, 
supposed by Chandler to be the theatre of Bacchus. At a short 
distance to the right in the town is the Choragic monument of 
Lysicrates. 

[A representation of this theatre is given on a painted vase 
belonging to Yianachi Logotheti ; it was found thirty years ago near 
Aulis ; the eastern end of the Acropolis is there depicted ; the 
corresponding part of the Parthenon above ; below it is the cavern 
of Apollo and Diana, and beneath, the Theatre.] Ed. 

K. 8. The Choragic monument of Thrasyllus, placed before a 
grotto, which is at present a church dedicated to the Holy Lady of 
the Cave. Over it was a female figure clothed in a lion's skin ; now 
in the possession of Lord Elgin. 

[It has been considered under various denominations ; and Vis- 
conti shows clearly that it represented the female Bacchus. In 
addition to what he has said respecting the character of this 
Deity, we may state the following references. Porphyry calls 
Bacchus, ©rjivuopQcz. Theodoret, H. Eccl. 1. iii. c. 7., says that the 
Gentiles of Emesa consecrated a building Atoiv<ru tu yv'vth; and 

' 4 B 



554 



PANORAMIC VIEW OF ATHENS. 



Isidore, in Orig., remarks that he was depicted muliebri et delicato 
corpore. ] Ed. 

K. 10. The remains of an ancient portico supposed by Stuart to be 
either part of the periboius of the temple of Bacchus, or the portico 
of Eumenes. 

L. 11. The Parthenon, west front.* 

M. 10. Ruins of a theatre. Wheler, Pococke, and Stuart, suppose 
it to have been the theatre of Bacchus ; Chandler and Barthelemy call 
it the Odeum of Herodes Atticus. From the situation of it, I should 
certainly conclude that it was the theatre of Bacchus. It appears 
from Pausanias that the theatre of Bacchus, the Cave of Pan, the 
Propylaga, and Areopagus were all near each other. If we allow the 
ruins to belong to the theatre of Bacchus, these particulars agree 
with Pausanias j they are irreconcilable, if we place it at the S. E. 
angle of the Acropolis. Pausanias says, there was a cave above 
the theatre, and a tripod upon it ; such a cave is still seen at the S. E. 
corner of the citadel ; and this Barthelemy adduces as a strong 
argument for placing the theatre of Bacchus in that situation. But 
this is not sufficient to outweigh the rest of Pausanias's narrative ; 
especially as there is another cave, not far from the ruins of the S. W. 
point, on which Wheler supposes a tripod to have been placed. 

N. 11. Modern tower, built near the site of the temple of Victory 
Apteros. Paus. 1. i. From this part of the citadel iEgeus threw himself 
down in a fit of despair for the supposed death of Theseus. Paus. ib. 

O. 1. An ancient building of white marble, and formerly a gallery 
for pictures. Paus. 1. i. This and the temple of Victory Apteros 
were connected by a range of Doric columns, placed at the top of the 
steps of the Propylasa ; and through this portico was the chief en- 
trance into the Acropolis. The space between the columns has been 
filled up by a modern wall ; and a very short time before my arrival 



* Concerning the front or proper entrance of the Parthenon, see "Visconti's Memoir. 
Theodosius Zygomalas in a letter to Martin Crusius, speaking of the ancient buildings 
remaining in the year 1575 at Athens, refers to what he calls the UavSeov; and mentions 
i-navui t>jj //.eyaAtjj ttuXijj SWouj Suo <pf,vcn<jo-o(j.evo'jc avipo/jLeuv els ca^xa. A head of one of the 
horses now in the Elgin collection, and brought from the west tympanum of the Parthe- 
non, is probably alluded to. It is a piece of sculpture of the highest merit. — Ed. 



PANORAMIC VIEW OF ATHENS. 



555 



at Athens, the Turks had knocked off the capitals of the columns, 
in order to erect one of their batteries on the summits. In front 
of the picture gallery and temple of Victory were anciently two 
equestrian statues. Paus. 1. i. 

L. L. Intersected by A. 12. That part of the city called Coele or 
the Hollow. In this spot were shown the tombs of Cimon, Herodotus, 
and Thucydides. 

P. 1. The beginning of the range of the Icarian mountains, which 
terminates at the sea near Salamis. 
Q.. 4. Turkish burying-ground. 

R. 10. Part of the Areopagus. This place is a rugged rock of 
small elevation, situated at the distance of about a furlong from the 
Acropolis at the N. W. extremity. The steps cut in the rock are 
still remaining. Pausanias describes it as being nearer the cave of 
Pan; and gives the etymology of the word, 1. i. See also iEsch. Eum. 
682. Eurip. Elec. 1258. 

Plate II. Aspect from N. W. to S. W. 

A. 1. Part of the modern town. 

C. 3. The Ceramicus within the city. Paus. 1. i. 

D. 4. The temple of Theseus ; a little beyond, to the right, in the 
modern town, are the ruins of the Gymnasium of Ptolemy, and the 
Pantheon. 

E. 4. Road to the Academy, beginning at the gate Dipylon. Cic. de 
Fin. 1. v. c. 1 . It passed through the suburb called Ceramicus 
without the city, and was covered with the sepulchres of the illus- 
trious dead. Thucy. 1. ii. It has been supposed that the tomb of 
Pericles was in that direction ; but it appears from Cicero, (De Fin. 
v. c. 2.) that it was on the road to Phalerum. The accumulation of 
earth is not the only cause of the destruction of the Athenian sepul- 
chres : it is one of the accusations brought against Demosthenes by 
his rival, that when appointed to repair the walls of the city after the 
battle of Chseronea, he used the stones of the tombs for that purpose. 
iEsch. in Ctes. 

F. 1. Yia Sacra, leading from the Sacred Gate to Eleusis, as it is 
seen ascending the distant hills, G. 5. 

4 b 2 



556 



PANORAMIC VIEW OF ATHENS. 



E. 6. The Collis Coloneus, the birth-place and residence of 
Sophocles, and the scene of one of his tragedies. Suidas. and Cic. 
de Fin. 1. v. 1. It was ten stadia from Athens. See Corsini, F. A. 
Diss. v. 207. 

K, 6. The Academy * ; a road passing from the gate Dipylon through 
the Ceramicus, and near the tombs of statesmen and warriors, led to 
the Academy, distant six stadia from the gate. The site of the 
Academy is now laid out in gardens. It is overshadowed with woods 
of olive, a few planes and cypresses, and watered by the Cephissus. 
W e meet with many illustrations of the scenery of the Academy and 
Colonaean hill in the writers of the ancient drama. See particularly 
CEdip. Col. 671. 700. and Aristoph. Nub. 1005. 

The Lacedaemonians in their invasions of Attica always spared the ' 
olive woods of the Academy. Plut. in Thes. 

I. 3. Lycabettus, a low rocky knoll, joining the hill of Musagus. 

G. 5. The Via Sacra, ascending the mountain between iEgaleos 
and Corydalus. Acharnae was situated near this place, as appears 
from Thucydides. Archidamus leading the Peloponnesians from 
Eleusis to Athens came to Acharnas, where he fortified himself, but 
did not descend into the plain. Thucy. 1. ii. c. 20. Stuart is mis- 
taken in placing iEgaleos to the N. of Corydalus. Thucydides 
expressly says that it was on the right of the road from Eleusis to 
Athens ; and that it was near the sea, we know from Xerxes having 
taken his position under it to view the battle of Salamis. Herod, viii. 

[The Via Sacra crosses the Cephissus in a direction nearly west of 
Athens. This river, says Strabo, flowing through the plain where the 

bridge is, Vix ts ruv o~kbXcov ruv oItto tou a,<TTtoq etg rov Yl&tQotux, xcxdrixovTuv, 
tK$l$uo~tv eig to tpaXyptxov.'f 

It is evident from this passage that the long walls were destroyed 
in the time of Strabo ; for if they had been entire, the river could 



* The forest of olive-trees seen in this direction is one of the most striking features in 
the plain of Athens. The groves and plantations in and about the city in ancient times, 
intermixed with the public and religious edifices, must have justified the application of the 
epithet 7rayxft.X)j to Athens. (TElian, V. H. iii. 26.) ""AXcnj Ssti's ttw; toi«S" aAAij noKis;" 
says a comic poet, (apud D. Chrysos. Orat. 64.) speaking of the city. — Ed. 

\ Strabo, lib. ix. 



PANORAMIC VIEW OF ATHENS. 



551 



not have pursued its course to Phalerum ; it must have continued its 
direction towards Pirseus. In fact, Strabo observes in the same book, 
that the walls were no longer standing.] Ed. 

L. 7. Distant summit of Cithseron. Strabo, 1. ix. 

Plate III. Aspect from S. W. to S. E. 

A. 1 Distant summit of Cithaeron. 

B. 2. The old road to the, Pirseus, with the marks of the ancient 
chariot-wheels worn in the rock. 

C. 3. Mount iEgaleos. It was not on the summit of this mountain, 
as some suppose, but at the foot of it, that Xerxes sat. Herod. 1. viii. 

D. 4. Distant mountain of the Peloponnesus, perhaps Cyllene, on 
the confines of Arcadia. 

E. 5. The Acro-Corinthus. 

F. 6. The island Salamis, the birth-place of Ajax, Strabo, 1. ix. 
iEschyl. Pers. 366. « 

H. 8. The Piraeus, distant five miles from Athens. This is also 
the distance given by Thucy. 1. ii. and Strabo, 1. ix. In different 
parts of the road, the ruins of the long walls* are visible, consisting 
of large blocks of stone, scattered loosely around. The marks of the 
chariot-wheels in the rock are evident also. Of the former splen- 
dour and busy throng of the Piraeus, nothing now remains. A mo- 
nastery dedicated to St. Spiridion, and a Turkish custom-house, are 
the only buildings there. One or two small merchant vessels and a 
few boats frequent the harbour, once filled with the numerous galleys 
of Athens. The remains of the outer walls near the sea are con- 
siderable ; in some places four tiers of stones may be counted. The 
port is a beautiful bay, well landlocked, f- 



* See Note, p. 559. 

f Although some of the excavations in the rock at the Pirseus and near the Museum hill 
may have served as sepulchres, yet it is more probable that they were places in which 
the Athenians were forced to dwell, when, during the Peloponnesian war, they quitted 
"their beautiful and ornamented country -residences," and were straightened for room in 
the city. The words of Thucydides are, — KaA« xtyi^utx x«t« t>jv %wp«v <uxo§ofJ«ij ts 
kol) 7ToXvTs\s<ri xaTacrxeuaif. Lib. ii. The scholiast on the Equi. of Aristoph. mentions the 
want of room in the city, and their dwelling in caves, — h Toi$ <nrrj\oitoi; uxow t*j <jn<km 
— Ed. 



558 



PANORAMIC VIEW OF ATHENS. 



K. 9. On a rocky point of land stretching to a considerable distance 
on the outside of the bay, is the tomb of Themistocles. Large 
blocks of a broken column, and an oblong excavation in the rock 
about six feet in length, which is occasionally covered by the waves 
of the sea, mark the position. The accounts of Plutarch and Pau- 
sanias agree that the tomb was placed near the Piraeus. The former 
says, that as you come from Alimus, which is to the east of the port, 
after doubling a promontory, the tomb of Themistocles is seen near 
the harbour, close to the calm water ; he cites some verses by Plato, 
the comic poet, which he supposes were composed for the tomb of the 
hero. 

I. 5. Mount Arachnseus in Argolis, between Epidaurus and Argos. 
Its summit was the last post in the line of communication between 
Troy and Argos ; and a fire blazing on it announced to Clytem- 
nestra the destruction of the former city. (iEschyl. Agam. 1. 319.) 
Between Arachnaeus and Cithaeron, 1. 22., there was only one other post 
for the signal. It is called iEgeplanctus by the poet, and was probably 
part of that high range which we ascend in leaving Megara on the 
road to Corinth. 

Plate IV. Aspect from S. E. to N. E. 

A. 1. Port of Munychia. 

B. 2. Port of Phalerum. Here Xerxes stationed his fleet previous 
to the battle of Salamis. (Herod, lib. viii. c. 67.) 

C. 3. The isles Eleusa and Belbina, near iEgina. 

C. 4. The Sinus Saronicus. 

D. 5. Isle of JEgina. The distant mountains beyond it are in 
Argolis. 

E. The monument of Philopappus, on the summit of the hill 
of Musaeus. (Pausan. lib. i.) 

F. 5. I have here lowered the hill of Musaeus a little, in order to 
introduce the point of Scylloeum, near which the Saronic Gulph 
enters the iEgaean Sea. Near the point is a small island anciently 
called Calauria, where Demosthenes ended his life by poison. (Plu- 
tarch, vit. Demos. Pausan. lib. i. Strabo, lib. viii. p. 542.) 



PANORAMIC VIEW OF ATHENS. 



559 



G. 7. The remains of an ancient building on the Ilissus. The 
foundation-stones are large blocks of white marble. It is the ruin of 
a temple ; but it is uncertain to whom it was dedicated. Stuart has 
given a drawing of it. (Antiq. vol. i. c. 2.) It has suffered much in 
its appearance since his time ; he calls it the temple of Panops. 

H. 8. Hymettus. It joins on to the right side of Plate L, and com- 
pletes the Panorama. 

NOTE. 

[Many tombs and sepulchres have been cut out of the rock on the 
eastern side of the Pirasan harbour, as well as numerous niches or 
shrines in the face of them ; and here votive offerings to Neptune 
were placed. Among the ruins of the town of Piraeus, some of 
the ancient streets may yet be traced ; and the remains of two 
theatres, and of a Doric temple, marked by the capitals and triglyphs 
now scattered near its site. 

The construction of part of the ancient walls here is remarkable ; 
they are not built in horizontal courses, but formed of huge polygonal 
blocks of stone with smooth joints. 

The masonry of the long walls is very coarse, and materials of 
every kind seem to have been used. There have been towers at 
certain distances all the way from the Piraeus to Athens ; but the wall 
on the side of Munychia is not so easily traced as the other. The 
foundations are about twelve feet thick. In the space between the 
long walls, over which the road to Athens conducted us, we observed 
in 'many places the foundations of houses, built on terraces, for 
which the rocky ground had been levelled, with the utmost regard to 
economy of space; staircases had also been cut in the rock. We 
here noticed some remains of tessellated pavements and many ancient 
wells. Some of these have a hollow cylindrical stone at their mouth, 
about three feet high above the surface of the ground ; others have a 
moulding round the top, and look like circular altars ; and I believe 
it was not uncommon to have bas reliefs on them. The stones were 
deeply indented by the frequent friction of the ropes to which the 
bucket was hung. One of these wells, if it be a well, is of a very 



560 



PANORAMIC VIEW OF ATHENS. 



singular form* ; A. B. is an inclined plane j the mouth B. C. is about 
three feet in diameter ; steps lead to the bottom. 




I descended until heaps of stones and rubbish that choaked up the 
shaft prevented my advancing beyond fifteen feet. We observed 
some sepulchral chambers as we proceeded towards the city; and marks 
of chariot-wheels worn into the rocky soil are to be seen on the road ; 
they are about four feet and a half asunder. While I was examining 
one of the wells, our guide Logotheti informed us, that lately some 
person employed by him in cleaning out a well near his house, found a 
bas relief in the soil at the bottom of it. This we afterwards saw ; it is 
well executed ; and represents a warrior in a chariot drawn by horses ; 
a winged Victory stands near him ; it was covered by a calcareous in- 
crustation ; but was afterwards cleaned, and is now in Lord Elgin s 
possession. 

The approach to Athens is rendered very striking by the sur- 
rounding scenery ; on the left the plain is enclosed by a chain of 
hills, part of Parnes and Brilessus; on the right by Hymettus ; and it is 
terminated by the distant summit of Pentelicus. From the centre 
of the plain, Mount Anchesmus rises majestically ; the Acropolis 
is contiguous to it ; and at the northern side of its base are seen 
the houses of the modern Athens. The summit of the Acropolis 
is crowned with the remains of the temple of Minerva and other 
religious edifices ; these, together with the Propylaea, must have pro- 
duced in their entire state a sensation on the mind of a stranger 
arriving from the Piraeus, most impressive and sublime.] — From Dr. 
Hunt's Journal. 



* Dr. Clarke mentions the discoveries often made, at the bottom of the wells of Athens, 
of vases and other monuments of antiquity. We may add that coins may probably be found 
there, as in the time of civil wars money was concealed in them. Aristio, who had amassed 
much wealth by plunder, hid it, we are told, in the wells of Athens. — See Athena?, lib. v. 
c. 5. Schw — Ed. 



( 561 ) 



REMARKS ON THE THESAURI OF THE GREEKS. 

[BY THE EDITOR.] 



The style of building adopted in the heroic ages of Greece for the 
construction of the ancient Thesauri may be seen by consulting the 
plates in Sir W. Gell's Argolis, which represent the treasury of 
Atreus at Mycenae. We find this edifice described in Col. Squire's 
Journals in the following manner. 

" Among the remarkable monuments of antiquity at Mycenae, is a 
large conical subterraneous building of stone. From what we read 
in Pausanias *, respecting the Thesaurus of Minyas, and from the 
large stone over the entrance, compared with that now seen at 
Orchomenus in Bceotia, it may be fairly presumed that this under- 
ground building was the treasury of Atreus ; a conjecture in some 
degree confirmed by small hooks of brass j* which are still seen in the 
walls ; and on which were probably suspended ornaments or articles 
of value belonging to the King of Mycenae. The building is of a 
bee-hive form, 45 feet in diameter in the lower part ; and on entering 



* M. Bartholdy has since examined this singular structure, and has drawn the same 
conclusion as Colonel Squire respecting the purpose for which it was erected, from com- 
paring Pausanias's account of the Treasury at Minyas, with the actual building at 
Mycenae. Une preuve plus que suffisante est celle qui se tire de la parfaite analogie de 
ce monument avec le tresor de Minyas a Orchomene. Pausanias dit, " que ce tresor est en 
pierre, et de forme ronde; la coupole ne s'eleve pas fort en pointe; la pierre la plus elevee 
parait servir de clef a toute la voute;" toutes circonstances qui cadrent textuellement avec 
la voute de Mycenes. — Voyage en Grece, i. 268. 

f Pausanias dit que l'on voit a Mycenes des chambres souterraines ou Atree et ses fils 
gardoient leurs tresors. Ces cloux de bronze pourroient meme avoir servi a suspendre des 
ecus et des armes, ou des tapis et de riches habits. — Bartholdy. 

4 c 



562 



REMARKS ON THE THESAURI OF THE GREEKS. 



it, you find on the right hand, am adjoining chamber excavated in the 
rock about 20 feet square. The whole of the large building was 
lined or rivetted with masonry ; in the adjoining chamber the solidity 
of the natural rock precluded the necessity of an artificial substitute. 
The principal building is nearly 60 feet high ; the top is enclosed by 
a single stone, and is level with the surface of a low height, on the 
east side of which is the entrance into the treasury through a passage 
lately opened by the means of Lord Elgin, leading to a gateway 
eleven feet wide, and eighteen feet in height ; over the entrance is a 
triangular opening for the admission of light ; the sides of which 
rest on a stone shaped like that at Orchomenus. Its dimensions are 
27 feet long, 16 wide, and four feet six inches in height. 

With respect to the treasury of Minyas at Orchomenus, mentioned 
by Pausanias as a wonder of art, we find the form and structure of it 
described by him in these words : " It was made of marble ; the 
shape was round ; the building was not very much pointed at the 
summit, and the uppermost stone was said to bind or keep together 
the whole edifice." AlQou 'iipyotcrjcci, £r%^jtta 7re^cpe^eg efjiv durtf, 
x.opv(P'/j <5s ovk eg oiyav oPo ccvvjyfAevvif tov amje»]a rcov Xiduv (putriv ot^ovlav 
m-ccvfi elvoct tw otKoScfjL^ccJi. From the version of Amasaeus of the last 
part of this passage no meaning can be collected ; " supremum lapidem 
toti cedificio modidum convenienticE esse dicunt but the sense I have 
given to d^ovU may be determined by the commentary of Ruhnkenius 
on Longinus, sect. x. 

We collect from Pausanias the purposes for which these ancient 
Thesauri were erected ; they were built eg vttoloxw x^W°^ uv ( HD ' * x *) > 
and that of Minyas, now in ruins at Orchomenus, was the first, he 
says which was raised in Greece. From some circumstances belong- 
ing to the history of this state in very early times, a considerable 
quantity of wealth of different kinds was collected ; ir^oa-o^ot eywoflo tu 
Mivua peytQog, and the Thesaurus was built to receive these revenues. 
A distinction is clearly laid down by Pausanias between sacred edifices 
and G^o-aupo): he says, " that Agamedes and Trophonius were skilled 
in building 9eo7$ re tepa, %u\ f-aa-lxeia, uv6pu>7rois ; therefore they erected a 



REMARKS ON THE THESAURI OF THE GREEKS. 



563 



shrine for Apollo at Delphi, and a Thesaurus for Hyrieus." We may 
suppose that in early times when no temples * (in the sense we usu- 
ally attach to that word) were erected in Greece, religious ofTerings 
as well as the treasures of the monarch were preserved in Thesauri ; 
and places of greater security and strength can hardly be conceived. 

There is nothing more curious in the history of ancient art in 
Greece, than the existence, at so remote an sera, of the Thesaurus of 
Orchomenus (a work, according to Pausanias, which was as worthy of 
admiration as the Pyramids of Egypt), and the great Kar«j3o'0pa, exca- 
vated in the vicinity, for the purpose of receiving the waters of the 
Copaic Lake, and conducting them by subterraneous canals to the 
sea. The wealth of Orchomenus in the time of Homer was such as 
to justify particular mention of it ; II. i. 381., 'Ou<T oaf eg Opxofiwov 
irpoTtvio-o-ereu ; and we must suppose with Heyne that the last word in- 
dicates the wealth to have been brought to Orchomenus, probably by 
persons who visited that place with religious views, and carried with 
them offerings of value. " What is most surprising," as Barthelemy 
observes, c. 34. V. d'Anach. " is, that the canals and pits, the 
KctruGoOpa, in the neighbourhood of Orchomenus, of which neither 
history nor tradition have preserved any remembrance, must be attri- 
buted to the most remote antiquity ; and that in those distant ages 
we have no knowledge of any power in Bceotia capable of forming 
and executing so vast a project." The time when Minyas lived, the 
builder of the Thesaurus, belongs to a very remote and obscure aera 
in the history of Greece ; he is placed by Pausanias four generations 
before Hercules, or a century ; allowing twenty-five years to each 
generation, and must have lived 1377 years B. C. 

The Greek Thesauri of a later age are of very different dimensions 



* On ne voit point qu' Homere ait eu la moindre idee de ce qu'on appelle ordre d'archi- 
tecture; il parle des temples consacres a Minerve et a Neptune, et cependant il n'en fait 
aucune description. The columns in his palaces are not ^STHAAl, a word which would in- 
dicate stone ; but Kjo'vgf ; qui ne peut s'entendre que de poteaux de bois. — Goguet, lib. ii. 
ep. ii. 192. 

4 C 2 



564 



REMARKS ON THE THESAURI OF THE GREEKS. 



and construction ; we may infer that they were small buildings, for 
no less than ten are enumerated by Pausanias as erected at Olympia ; 
and as many, we learn from the same writer, and from Herodotus, 
Strabo, and Xenophon, were seen at Delphi. * In describing one 
raised by the people of Megara, at Olympia, Pausanias mentions a 
circumstance which leads us in some degree to a knowledge of the 
form of these buildings ; he says, " the war of the gods and giants 
was worked in relief on the pediment of the Thesaurus ;" Tou 8vi<ra.vpov 
$e tiF£i$y<x,<TToit tw deTu o yiyc&vTuv xu) Qtuv TTcXz^oq. We have no word in 
English by which we can properly designate the Thesauri of this 
second class, unless we adopt " sacred chambers or chapels." The 
expression oTkoc, as well as va.og, is applied by the Greeks to them. 
(Wytten. Anim. in Plut. ii. 990.) The French use the term, " espece 
de chapelles ou settles ; Larcher, Herod, i. 200. Chapelles occurs in the 
French translation of Strabo, lib. ix. 454., and in the Memoires de 
l'Acad. des Inscrip. 47. 84. The Greek word is sometimes rendered 
by Sacrariumf ; and Schweighaeuser, in his commentary on Athe- 
naeus, lib. xiii. c. 84., says, " varias fuisse Delphis cellas quas Thesauros 
vocabant a similar meaning is affixed to the word by JD'Orville. 
We learn from different testimonies that religious anathemata or the 
offerings of states and individuals of a sacred nature (Kocdie^w^eva,) were 
preserved in them (Strabo, 607.) ; in one, at Delphi, called by 
Polemo o wimftm fyo-ocupog, there were two statues of marble, and the 
name implies that tablets were placed in it. (See Schwei. in 1. supra 
citato.) 



* See Pausanias, lib. x. ; Herodotus, lib. i. and iii. ; Xenophon Anab. lib. v. ; Strabo, 
pp.607. 301. 312., for the mention of the Thesauri of the Clazomenians, Corinthians, 
Siphnians, Athenians, and of the people of Spina and Agylla. 

f See Wesseling ad Diod. Sic. t. i. 714. 

% Sicil. 74. Thesauri vocabantur cellae separatae et seclusae circa templa in quibus singulae 
civitates donaria sua dedicabant, non aliter fere ac hodie Romanae Hierarchiae illustriores 
saepe subditi suam quisque, quam vocant capellam, in ipsis templis habent. In an Oscan 
inscription, we find TESAVR, which is Thesaurus, locus sacelli Herculis. — Sec Passeri 
Pitt. Etrus. 3 vol. lxii. 



REMARKS ON THE THESAURI OF THE GREEKS. 



565 



It appears that the word Thesauri * was also applied by the Greeks 
to places formed or excavated under their temples ; for the term 
Favissae used by the Romans corresponded, we are told, to the The- 
sauri of the Greeks. Aulus Gellius, lib. xi. c. 10. Now the former 
were subterraneous apartments or recesses in which things of value 
pertaining to the temple, or connected with religious ceremonies, 
were preserved. , When Livy, lib. v. c. 50., speaks of money deposit- 
ed, " sub cetta Jovis" he alludes to money placed in one of these 
Favissae. Hence we may explain the expression which occurs some- 
times in inscriptions, Signa translata ex abditis locis (Fabretti, 280.) ; 
that is, the statues or images were taken out from the Thesauri in 
which they had been deposited. 

It remains that we should point out another meaning of the word 
9vj<roaj^o; ; it was used to signify a granary, or place dug in the rock, in 
which grain was preserved. The city of Cyzicum had three Thesauri ; 
tov plv onXciiv, tov U opydvtov, rov Js IITOT. Strabo, lib. xii. And in 
Aristotle, Omov, lib. ii., we find mention made of Qyo-avpoi iru^a. t«V clove. 
This mode was adopted in early times ; and is still used for preserv- 
ing corn in the East ; and in one of these magazines Philopoemen was 
confined, as we learn from Plutarch and Livy, lib. xxxix. c. 50. 
" Conveying him," says the Greek writer, " to what was called the 
Thesaurus, a subterranean building, receiving neither air nor light 
from without, and having no doors, but closed by a great stone, 
which was rolled against it by some mechanical power, there they 

placed him." Kopi'o-otVTeg uutov iiq rov xctXovpivov Qyio-ctvpov, oUvj^cx, xuruyeicv, 
ovre 7Tvev[z<x. Xup(3<zvov, ours (pug e%u@ev, ovre 9vpag e%ov 9 ccXXcc peyciXw \i'9u 
7rspicx,yofA.evo) *j- xuToiicXuof&B'sov evT.avdx KezredevTo. A similar punishment was 
inflicted on Antigenes ; he was put into one of these excavations 
made under ground for the purpose of receiving corn, and was burnt 
alive. Diod. S. T. ii. 351. 



* The Thracian word for these excavations was ^EIPOI: touj 5>jcraupuj x«» t« ofCyixura. 
h o»j x«t£t»6svto t« uisk^oLTo. osipov; sxu\ouv ol ®p5ix.sc. — Schol. in Demos. Orat. de Cherson. 

f The word Trspayo/xlvw in Plutarch is explained, as Gronovius observes, by the phrase 
in Livy, saxum quod machina sive tormento movetur. 



566 



REMARKS ON THE THESAURI OF THE GREEKS. 




Yl_! \ 



T7 & .87.0 VT 



MYCENAEf 



//. o 



Em 



2.6 



THESAURI 



REFERENCES TO THE PLATE. 



A. is the door-way of the Treasury at Orchomenus. 

B. is the great stone over the door-way, of granular marble. 

C. the inside slope. 

a. is the door-way of the Treasury of Mycenae. 

b. is the great stone over the door-way, having above it a triangular 
opening for the admission of light. The stone is twenty-seven feet 
long ; four feet six inches high ; one foot six inches broad. 

y. is a section of the large stone. 

The measures of the Orchomenian Treasury are from Mr. Hawkins; 
those of the Thesaurus of Mycenae are taken from Colonel Squire's 
papers. 



( 567 ) 



REMARKS ON THE TROAD. 

(CONTAINED IN A LETTER ADDRESSED BY MR. MORRITT TO DR. CLARKE, 

AUGUST, 1812.) 

Dear Sir, 

When, like you, I first visited the ruins of Tchiblak, their coinci- 
dence with the description given by Strabo of the Pagus Iliensium, 
struck me so strongly, that I hesitated for some time whether I should 
not adopt the system which they have led you to pursue, and sup- 
pose this to be the situation which Homer assigned to Troy. Had I 
found the ruins you describe at Palseo Califat, the coincidence would 
have struck me still more forcibly, and the remains you describe as 
the Callicolone, and the tombs of Ilus and-Myrinna, would have been 
powerful corroborations of my opinion. I confess it is more than 
probable that Strabo adopted it, and yet it is so inconsistent with Ho- 
mer's poem, that after comparing them I should have been compelled 
to doubt extremely the accuracy of his information. I cannot lay 
any stress on the traditions which in Strabo's time continued to 
identify the different objects in the plain with the features of the 
poem. The Troad was consecrated ground ; travellers of the 
greatest celebrity, kings and warriors, stopped in their career to 
contemplate its remains, and the natives of Ilium and Alexan- 
dria appear to have been no less officious in gratifying their curi- 
osity than the monks of Jerusalem now are, in pointing out their 
scenes and situations to the veneration of the pilgrims. There are 
some difficulties which perhaps you may remove (or which may be 
left to future visitors of the plain,) in reconciling Strabo's description 
with your system : and first with regard to the position of New 
Ilium. This you consider as situated at Palseo Califat, to the north 
of the stream now called Califat Osmack, and supposed by you to 
have been the Simois of Homer and of Strabo. " It is surrounded on 



568 



THE TROAD. 



all sides by a level plain" which you conjecture to have been the 
Simoisian plain, and from the medals which are said by the Turks to 
have been found there, certainly it appears to have existed here. 
But in Strabo's description of New Ilium it appears to me to have 
stood between the two rivers, which he considered as the Simois and 
Scamander ; for his description of the country is as follows (Strabo, 
p. 597. lib. xiii.): " The two rivers, the Scamander and the Simois, 
the first having approached Sigaeum, and the latter Rhaeteum, join 
their waters at a little distance in front of New Ilium, and then fall 
into the sea near Sigasum, and form what is called the Stomalimne. 
A large neck of land divides the two plains from each other (the 
Scamandrian and Simoisian plains,) beginning immediately where 
the modern town of Ilium stands, and trvftQvvjs dvru, \ connected with 
it,' but extending to Cebrenia, and completing the form of T, till it 
reaches the ridges on either side j" which ridges he had before de- 
scribed as enclosing the plain in a semicircle. If New Ilium stood at 
the end of a neck of land between the Simois and Scamander, and the 
junction of the two took place in front of the town, it would seem as 
if Strabo considered the front as the side next the shore, from whence 
and not from Ilium he seems to have taken his survey. The city of 
New Ilium also in the time of Strabo had another peculiarity which I 
candidly confess agrees neither with the situation in which I looked 
for it between the Mender and the stream of Bournasbashi, nor 
with that which you assign it : for it could not admit, he says, of the 
flight of Hector round its walls (which he considers as essential to the 
situation of ancient Troy), hot crwexv P«-x tv on account of the continued 
ridge on which it stood. In this confusion it appears to me impossi- 
ble to reconcile Strabo's description to the places now discoverable 
in the plain. I found some old work and broken inscriptions between 
the two rivers, which I supposed the Simois and Scamander. Should 
a city have existed in that situation, it would, from Strabo's account, 
dispute the title of Ilium with your ruins at Kalifat, as they are so 
contiguous, that Ilium medals would be found by the Turks at either 
place. Where KaufTer gets his name for it of VilJe de Constantine, 



THE TROAD. 



569 



I do not know ; but if Constantine built near Ilium these ruins may 
certainly have belonged to him. 

Another point still left to be ascertained from Strabo is the 
vixvcrTocQpos, or position of the Grecian fleet and camp during the siege. 
He mentions it first in p. 595. : — " Beyond Rhseteum is Sigseum, a city 
in ruins, and the station of the ships, and the port of the Grecians, and 
the Greek camp, and the marsh called Stomalimne, and the mouths 
of the Scamander." In p. 598. he adds, " The vuwroi^oq (station of 
the ships) is at Sigceum, and near it the Scamander discharges its 
waters at the distance of twenty stadia from New Ilium. But if any 
one should insist that the place now called the AIMHN AXAII2N, the 
port of the Grecians, was the station of the ships, he will fix it at a 
place twelve stadia distant from the city (of New Ilium), for all the 
plain between the city and the sea is an alluvial plain, formed by the 
river, so that the interval, which is now twelve stadia, was formerly 
less than the half." This passage appears to me of great importance 
in ascertaining not only the situation of the Grecian camp, but the 
relative positions of the rivers and the city, as I will endeavour to 
convince you. For, first, the description of the shore is such as pre- 
cludes all possibility of deriving from its present form any argument 
as to its ancient windings ; next, the little bay which you mark as 
the harbour of the Grecian fleet is indeed nearly in the position of 
the place called in Strabo's time the > i-xrp 'A^a/ar, the port of the 
Greeks, which he expressly asserts to have been different from the 
vcZvo-TuGpog, or station, assigned by Homer ; for this was at Sigceum, and 
consequently on the other side of the Mendere river. I should lay less 
stress on this position assigned by Strabo, were it not confirmed in 
many respects by Homer, and did it not account also for the strait- 
ness and crowding of the Grecian quarters, for which, under the other 
supposition, it would be difficult to assign any reason. 

The source of the Scamander was, according to the account of 
Demetrius, in a hill of Ida called Cotylus, at one hundred and twenty 
stadia from Scepsis ; from whence also rose the iEsepus and the 
Granicus, the Scamander alone flowing to the west. Strabo, p. 602. 

4 D 



570 THE TROAD. 

It is then apparent that Demetrius and Strabo considered the Men- 
dere as the Scamander ; and though I doubt the justice of that conclu- 
sion, yet your researches have completely satisfied me as to the 
accuracy of their description. 

Allow me, then, at last, to revert to Homer, from whom alone I 
think the clue is to be obtained which will guide us out of the laby- 
rinth in which we have wandered. And, first, with regard to the 
situation of the Grecian camp and fleet. I am led to place it at 
Sigseum, from the following circumstances. All the tombs, except the 
Aianteum, are to the west of the Mendere river ; and that one of these 
at Sigseum was always celebrated as the tomb of Achilles, we have the 
concurrent testimony of ancient history ; the tomb of Patroclus, 
whether a cenotaph as described in the Iliad, or that in which his 
ashes, mixed with those of his friend, were deposited according to the 
Odyssey, must also have been in this part of the plain. That these 
tombs were at no great distance from Achilles's station, we may, I 
think, gather from the description, given in the twenty-third book 
of the Iliad, of the funeral rites of Patroclus. I think, too, that the 
situation of the tomb of Patroclus at the Sigsean promontory is 
marked by the arrival and return of the winds Boreas and Zephyrus 
over " the Thracian sea." II. f. v. 230. This position of the sea to 
the north and west agrees remarkably with the situation of the tombs 
at the Sigsean promontory, which appear, I think, also to have been in 
or immediately adjacent to the camp. That the camp was here, 
appears farther from the inimitable picture of Achilles in the first 
book, " sitting apart from his friends," ifi aXoq mktSts o^oiov \ir\ 
o'Ivotto. 7T ovtov. This surfy shore, and black sea beyond it, I have always 
considered as applicable to the JEgean, and not to the bounded view 
across the Hellespont. If the Grecian camp was at Sigceum, and the 
tents of Achilles and the Myrmidons at the western extremity of that 
camp, I need not point out to you how exactly the position would 
agree with the circumstances thus alluded to. Here, too, we have the 
$7vec7ro*v<p\<>i'<r(-oio QaXiiro-iju where Chryses addressed Apollo, the patron 
of Tenedos, a picture surely made more natural on this supposition, as 



THE TROAD. 



571 



the island and Jane of Tenedos would here be within his view. II. A. v. 38. 
Such are the circumstances which induce me to adopt the opinion sanc- 
tioned by Strabo, that the uccva-raQ^og, or station of the Grecians, was on 
the western side of the mouth of the Mendere, and not at the harbour 
called in after-times the MMHN AXAIX1N. From the nature of the 
alluvial plain described by Strabo, and existing at this moment near 
the mouth of the Mendere, we cannot now expect to point out with 
precision the spot to which Homer alludes ; we know that it was not 
extensive, from the crowded manner in which the Grecians ranged 
their ships ; the Mendere, however, at different times must have 
varied the direction of its course, before it formed the point on which 
the modern castle of Koumkale is situate. No argument drawn, 
therefore, from the present form of this sandy and alluvial shore, 
would induce me to reject Strabo's position of the Naustathmus, as 
it is confirmed by Homer. 

Between this camp too, and the city of Troy, we find repeated 
mention of the fords of the Scamander. II. O. 1. 1. and subsequently 
XI. 1. 350. and 692. Whether, then, the Mendere or the stream of 
Bounarbachi be looked on as the Scamander of Homer, the camp and 
the city were on different sides of the river ; and in assigning to Troy 
the position of Tchiblak, we should still come to the same conclusion 
that the camp was at Sigceum. When the Trojans were encamped 
near the walls and ships of the Grecians, their fires were lighted be- 
tween the ships and the Scamander, Mea-viyu veu>v tie EdvQoto ^oduv 'lXioQi 
Trgo, in front of Ilium, Now, in the position assigned by you to the 
post of the Grecians, and to the ancient city at Tchiblak no river in- 
tervenes except the Thymbrius. If Hector also and the Trojans were 
" between the river and the ships" in this memorable night, the tomb 
of Uus, where the council of the Trojan chiefs assembled, was in this 
Scamandrian plain, and, as Heyne justly observes, the ^uo-^og ml'mo 
was probably on the side of the river next the ships, dyyj veav. We 
must then look for it on the other side of the Mendere, to that which 
you seem to have discovered, and which was probably pointed out to 
Strabo. That the monument of Ilus was near the ford, and probably 
close to the Scamander, but on the other side of the ford, appears 

4 d 2 



572 



THE TROAD 



from the twenty-fourth book, v. 349., in the account of Priam's jour- 
ney to the tents of Achilles. My own opinion was, that the ancient 
mouth of the Mendere had probably been altered, and that the Sto- 
malimne and marshes nearer to Rhseteum had at some time received 
it. The difficulties already mentioned induced me to adopt Cheva- 
lier's system, which places Troy at Bounarbachi in preference to 
Tchiblak, where, however, I conceive that Strabo found the Pagus 
Hiensium. The rocks of the Acropolis alluded to in the Odyssey, 
©. 507., exist only (if they exist at all) in that direction. The station 
of the scout Polites upon the tomb of iEsyetes corresponds with this 
view of the subject. If Troy was at Bounarbachi, it would not only 
be the point from whence a survey of the Grecian position would 
naturally be taken, but one from which his swiftness of foot would 
secure him a retreat; but if we place the city at Tchiblak, the banks 
and waters of the Mendere would intervene, and his distance from 
the city would be nearly equal to that of the Greeks themselves. 

Of the nature of the rivers in question, and of the plain, I would 
observe, that you have, perhaps too hastily, adopted an idea that the 
principal battles were fought in the Simoisian plain, in contradiction 
to Homer, who, though he places the scene of action for several books 
between the Simois and Scamander, or between the Scamander and the 
ships, always, I think, designates it by the title of the Scamandrian 
plain, which also was nearest to the camp and ships. B. v. 469. 
The Grecians are described as issuing from the camp, and forming 
their army, lu Xsipcovi Zxapuvfyta uvQeposvn, and the Trojans at the 
sepulchre of Myrinna. (Ibid. 815.) The subsequent battle was fought 
between the Simois and Scamander (z. v. 4.), and nearer to the Sca- 
mander than to the Simois, if Heyne be correct in his note on the 
II. E. v. 775. vol. i. p. 297., where Juno and Minerva descend at the 
confluence of the two rivers. Indeed they leave their car and horses 
on the banks of Simois, before they proceed to the plain, v. 777. 
This is the scene of the first battle, and the second begins in the same 
position ; but the Grecians being driven to their ships, the Trojan 
are, we find, in the eighth book, II. 0. v. 556., between the ships and 
the Xanthus, or Scamander, which last river of course they must have 



THE TROAD- 



573 



crossed. The relative situation of the two rivers you very justly lay 
down as Homer describes them, the Scamander to the left of the 
Trojan army, and consequently to the right of the Grecian, when 
both armies were between the rivers ; and after the Scamander had 
been crossed by both armies, of course that relative position would 
be reversed. In the seventh book, II. H. v. 329., the bloodshed is all 
stated by Nestor to have been "Eug^ocu d^pl Zxuuxvfyov, on the banks of 
Scamander, nor do I recollect any mention of the Simois, or the 
Simoisian plain, except where the river is incidentally named in the 
passage I have already quoted, and where Xanthus calls on him for 
assistance against Achilles in the twenty-first book, II. <I>. v. 307. 
There is another passage indeed which I should wish to lay before 
you, and which goes far to prove that the Simois was certainly the river 
now called the Mendere ; for it is quite clear that the Simois 
descended from Ida, whatever was the case of the Scamander, which I 
will presently consider. In the fourth book, II. a. v . 475., Simoisius, 
the son of Anthemion, is slain by Ajax — Simoisius, " whom his 
mother, as she was descending from Ida, brought forth on the banks of 
the Simois." This passage I look on as conclusive against any system 
that places the whole course of the Simois in the plain below Troy. 
The Simois, too, ill accords with your description of the Califat 
Osmak, which, as you justly state, can " hardly be said to flow to- 
wards the Mendere." It is indeed most accurately designated by you 
as a "small and almost stagnant river ;" but the Simois was of a 
totally different description ; it descended from Ida, and raised on 
occasion 7rokvv o^vuotydov^ <piT(>uv Kai xdojv. L. 21. Surely, therefore, the 
Mendere has a title to be the Simois of Homer. But the claim of 
the Scamander is very dubious. Great stress has been laid upon the 
relative size of the rivers, of which, if you will for a while tolerate 
the assertion, which, I think, I can support, Homer no where makes 
any mention. He describes the Simois, as we have seen, as a moun- 
tain-river descending from Ida, and sometimes with great violence. 
I have been severely reprehended, as well as Sir W. Gell, for mis- 
stating the nature of the Mendere river, and Chevalier's conjecture, 
that it was in summer inconsiderable, has met with equal severity. 



574 



THE TROAD. 



In November it was, when I visited it, a very considerable river. You 
have, with Sir W. Gell, borne testimony, which I can confirm, to the 
strength of its stream and the depth of its fords ; but in spite of all 
this, I must continue to give credit, not to Chevalier, indeed, but to 
Chandler, who expressly states (Travels in Asia, chap, xiii.) that 
" he passed the stream where the bed of the river was wide, and the 
bank steep, several times without being wet shod ;" though when I was 
there, if he had attempted to pass on foot at the same place he would 
probably have been drowned. With respect to the Scamander of 
Homer, we are not singular in conceiving it to have had its rise from 
the two fountains near the city, for though, as you judiciously observe, 
the 7rviyu) Ekcx^ocv^ov do not necessarily imply in all cases the sources of 
the river, yet it is by so much the most usual acceptation that Strabo 
himself understood Homer in that sense ; for, he says, that Homer's 
description affords room for discussion, " because no warm springs 
are now found in the place (that is, at New Ilium), and the source 
{jryyvi) of the Scamander is not there but in the mountain, and is only 
one source, not tzvo ;" though at the same time he admits, that, by sup- 
posing the cold water he found there (probably the Califat Osmak) to 
have flowed in a subterraneous passage from the Scamander, and 
to* rise here; or, perhaps, on account of the vicinity to the Sca- 
mander, it might be called Ztcotpuvfyou n^yy] ; and that the hot 
spring had probably failed. Strabo, lib. xiii. p. 602. The first, there- 
fore, was the usual and obvious sense of Homer's expression, and the 
only objection that has been made against it, is the passage in the 
twelfth book, II. M. v. 20. where the Scamander is mentioned as one 
of the rivers that flow from Ida to the sea. The Simois is also men- 
tioned in the very next line, so that, if this passage be genuine, we 
must look for both these rivers in the mountains; and the Califat 
Osmak, as well as the river of Bounarbachi, would lose all claim to 
either designation. It is, however, more than suspected, I should be 
inclined to say that it is nearly certain, that the whole of this passage 
in the twelfth book is spurious. In Heyne's notes on the place, he 
mentions many grounds to support this opinion, some of which are 
very strong. The reason assigned for the Grecians building the wall 



THE TROAD. 



575 



is inconsistent with the account given of it in the seventh book ; the 
disappearance of the wall (which itself was in all probability an in- 
vention of the poet) was accounted for already in the seventh book, 
where it would naturally occur. In the twelfth it has no connection 
whatever with the narration, to which I would add that the absurdity of 
bringing all the rivers of Ida to co-operate in the work of destruction 
is so great and obvious, that it could only be the addition of some sub- 
sequent rhapsodist unacquainted with the nature of the country. * 

There may be other passages, but there are none in my recollection 
where Homer describes Scamander as issuing from Ida, or descending 
from Idcean Jove. It is true, as I have already shown, that Simois 
descended from the mountain, but we are at full liberty to look 
elsewhere for the Scamander. Being ignorant of the geography of 
Ida near Bairamitche, and finding in Wood's Map a continued chain 
of hills from Bounarbachi southwards to Scepsis, and the sources of 
the river that flows past it, and which he mistook for the Scamander, 
I certainly consider the hills behind Bounarbachi as part of the 
v7rupeHx, or roots of Ida, as that name includes in Strabo the whole of 
the mountain-district, as it did in Homer's time ; and indeed as the 
plain of Bairamitche, though it extends between this range and the 
summit of Kasdaghi, does not cut through the chain behind Scepsis, 
the hills of Bounarbachi, seem still to be only the claws of the large 
Scolopendra, to which it was likened by the ancient writers. 
Supposing, however, that the hills at Bounarbachi are " no part of 
Ida" they do not therefore become less likely to have been the seat 
of Troy. I do not remember in the Iliad any passage where Troy is 
said to have been situated on that mountain, though it stood near 
the fountains of Scamander. The only remaining objection to our 
Scamander is its size, which has been thought inconsistent with the 



* Though the passage supposed to be interpolated is unquestionably ancient, I still 
should think it not genuine from the mention of the YjfilQeov yevo; avfy&v, demi-gods, a race 
of beings with which the old bard himself seems to have been totally unacquainted. I 
question if they are alluded to in any genuine passage of Homer. Castor, Pollux, and 
even Hercules, are always represented as men and as mortal. 



576 



THE TROAD. 



epithets assigned to it by Homer. He certainly was the son of 
Jupiter, and in the 21st book his epithets would lead us to expect a 
considerable river, but after the Trojans in that book had arrived at 
the ford of the Scamander (II. <Z\ v. 1.), and one part of them fled 
towards the city, those whom Achilles pursued fled to the left, and 
the slaughter continued below, and at the confluence of the two rivers. 
Below that point the united stream retained always the name of the 
Scamander ; I have elsewhere given reasons for this supposition, for 
were not the battle between Achilles and the Scamander at least 
near* the confluence, the demigod could not be so silly as to invoke 
the assistance of his kinsman the Simois. At that point all the 
epithets are certainly applicable, and they are but sparingly used if 
at all in other parts of the poem, where the Scamander is more 
appropriately complimented as ev^oc; y xaXt^ocg, and on his ayXaov v^g, 
and kscXu fiesta, Indeed in after-times the Mendere received all the 
honours due to the Scamander, and probably the alteration arose 
from the diversion of the original stream ; for notwithstanding the 
story of the drain made by a Turkish governor, I strongly suspect 
the present channel of the stream of Bounarbachi to have been a 
much more ancient work. The amnis navigabilis of Pliny is marked 
in your maps, and Mr. Walpole's research has completely accounted 
for the epithet ; but you seem to forget that Pliny expressly calls it 
the Scamander. A Turkish governor, as you know, was not likely to 
originate an improvement of this nature, and it is not possible to 
account for Pliny's expression, but by supposing the new channel of 
the Scamander, as it is called, to have existed when he wrote. Nor 
even does the modern name of Mendere appear to have been 
uniformly applied to the larger river. 

I agree, therefore, with Chevalier, that after the deflection of this 



* I should suppose the entreaty of the Scamander to the Simois most naturally timed 
when he was driving the hero down his stream to the point of confluence. It should 
never be forgotten that near this point a single elm pulled down by Achilles formed a 
bridge across it, a circumstance which can only be applied to such a stream as that of 
Bounarbachi. 



THE TROAD. 



577 



stream, subsequent geographers . continued to the larger river the 
name which in Homer's time it only bore below the confluence, and 
looked for the Simois where they could not find it. This alteration 
in the course of the Scamander, if it was very early (which I strongly 
suspect it was), accounts for the variance we find between Homer 
and even the best of the ancient geographers. This system, which 
Chevalier first adopted, still appears to me so far from being a " wild 
theory," that it seems to remove the chief difficulties which stand in 
the way of every other. It is strongly borne out not only by the 
existence of the two fountains, which, according to the obvious, 
though not the necessary sense of the only genuine passage relating 
to the sources of the Scamander in Homer, appear to have been 
those sources, but also by the tumuli on the hill behind Bounarbachi, 
which agree with the probable position of the Trojan tombs, and 
were certainly near the city. As to the nature and heat of these 
springs and the number of them, they have given rise to more minute 
researches than when I was there ; and my only excuse for this 
and many other omissions is, that when I visited the plain, Bryant 
had not written, and I never dreamt of controversy. The survey I 
took was merely to satisfy a classical curiosity with respect to Homer, 
and I neither used a thermometer to the springs, nor took more of a 
map than just to mark with a pencil some of the incorrect delineations 
of Chevalier's. You who have been on the spot, will appreciate 
what I did, and not wonder at what I omitted, under such circum- 
stances. Every traveller has confirmed what I originally stated with 
respect to the tradition of one of the springs being hot and the other 
cold. I call the Kirk Geuse one spring ; for though the water issues 
from a number of small orifices in the rock, yet being all so near 
together and forming only one large pool, it is refining far too much 
to suppose a poet would necessarily speak, as Shakspeare says, by the 
card, and count every separate crevice. To the touch when I was 
there, the water of the marble fountain, in which only one spring 
rises, was warmer than in the larger and more exposed pool formed 
by the Kirk Geuse. If Homer had heard by a similar inaccurate re- 
port what we all heard from the tradition of the country, such an 

4 E 



578 



THE TROAD. 



opinion would be quite foundation sufficient for the incidental de- 
scription with which he has ornamented his 22d book. The tombs 
are another striking feature of this system. They of course were near 
Troy, for the same reason that those of the Greeks were near the 
shore. Hector's was made 7rv>tvo7<jiv Xa&tro-t, and all those you found 
there were of stones heaped together, like the Scotch cairns, of 
which we ourselves have numbers in each part of the island. It 
would perhaps be difficult to point out that of Hector after your 
observation, that the same description would apply to all ; but it by 
no means follows that the same did not apply to all, as the poem 
closes without mentioning the other tombs. Not only the tombs how- 
ever, but the rocks mark the Acropolis of Troy, for they, too, are 
mentioned in Odyss. @. v. 508: — "H zurx 7reTpduv jSaXesiv ... a cir- 
cumstance not sufficiently weighed by many who have written on 
the subject. Nay, I am almost inclined to insist on this situation 
the more, from its explaining, I own, to my own satisfaction, a very 
curious passage which has been much discussed by the commentators. 
In the 21st book, U. O. 555, after the Trojans, pursued by Achilles, had 
entered the city, and Priam had closed the Scsean gate to stop pursuit, 
Agenor, incited by Apollo, remained on the outside of the wall. In 
his alarm at the approach of Achilles, he meditates on flight, and says, 
II. $. 556, — " What, if leaving the others to destruction from Achilles 
I fly from the wall elsewhere, -n-^og wzUov "ix^i'ov, till I come to the 
forests of Ida, and lurk in the dingles ? In the evening, after washing 
in the river, I can return refreshed to Ilium." By some commen- 
tators the ttsSIov 'ixyi'ov is translated, the Ilian plain ; but surely the 
absurdity of flying towards the plain, when Achilles had driven, the 
army to the town, need not be pointed out, and the plain which ex- 
tended to the sea could not lead Agenor to the recesses of Ida. 
Neither, I think, can any form of Greek derivation deduce 'ikqi'ov 
from "iXtog, of which the possessive adjective would be 'ixUov or 
'LXicckoi. Other commentators have on this account read the word 
'iffyVci/, and supposed it the plain of Ida, to which Agenor might 
naturally go. I believe it myself to be a genuine and uncorrupted 
passage, and that 'iA^cr, or more anciently FtWviiov, is derived from 



THE TROAD. 



579 



"IKt] or F*xF)7, « turma," a troop j that it was the place of exercise, the 
Campus Martius, beyond the city, and that in that situation it exists 
in the opening plain about Arablar. This interpretation was suggested 
to me by my friend Mr. Payne Knight, and strongly confirms our 
system. Be this as it may, the plain alluded to must be sought in the 
direction of Ida, and the real geography of the country round 
Bounarbachi appears to me to explain that of Agenor's meditation. 
The dingle which intervenes between Bounarbachi and the tombs 
need not create a difficulty in assigning that situation to the Acropolis. 
If I recollect right, it does not cut off entirely Bounarbachi from the 
hill ; and if it did, there is no proof in Homer that such an inter- 
ruption did not intervene. It was so in other ancient cities ; as for 
instance, between the Acropolis of Argos and the lower town on the 
Aspis or Phoronean hill. 

I have now gone through what I thought might throw light on this 
intricate subject, and have, I fear, tired you with a twice-told tale. 
I have reconsidered a subject I once paid much attention to, and am 
not sorry for an opportunity to retract some of my former errors, as, 
I assure you, I attach no vanity to the maintaining contrary to con- 
viction one word that I have inconsiderately written. I will conclude 
then, as you have done, with a view of the present state of our united 
discoveries. 

The river Mendere is the Scamander of Strabo, and Xanthus of 
Pliny, who however gives the name of Scamander to a small river 
now flowing into the iEgaean, south of the Sigsean promontory. The 
Scamander of Homer was that small river which in his time flowed 
into the Mendere, and gave its name to it. The Mendere above the 
junction was Homer's Simois, and descends from Ida. 

The plain on the north-east side of the Mendere was the Simoisian 
plain, that on the south-west the Scamandrian, in which the battles 
were chiefly fought. 

The ruins of Palseo Califat I believe to have been those of the 
Ilium of Strabo, but his description is attended with some obscurity. 
Eastward is Strabo's Throsmos, which however disagrees completely 
with Homer's description of that mound. 

4e 2 



580 



ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION. 



The hills near Tchiblak probably mark the site of the Pagus 
Iliensium and the Callicolone of Strabo, but do not agree with 
Homer's position of Troy. 

The springs of Bounarbachi are warm springs, but tradition only 
makes one of them warm, and Homer might adopt it. They were pro- 
bably the OIAI nHrAI ; and if so, near the Scaean gate. 

The source of Mendere is in Gargarus, and so was that of Simois ; 
the position of that of the Scamander is no where mentioned, unless 
the two fountains near Troy were the sources. 

The TlzMov 'iXvji'ov was behind Troy in the way to Ida. 

Troy stood at a considerable distance from Ida, properly so called, 
rvjXoQev lv tt^Iu. The Acropolis stood on a rock. Odyss. 507. The 
situation of Bounarbachi has nothing irreconcilable with these sup- 
positions ; it is on a low elevation above the Scamandrian plain, 
backed by higher mountains. Homer describes such a situation by 
the epithet ocp^vosa-cru. 



REMARKS 

ON THE 

ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION BROUGHT FROM ATHENS, 

AND NOW PRESERVED IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 
['BY MR. WILKINS.] 

In the annexed inscription, which is six years older than the date of 
the archonship of Euclid, the H occurs with the power of an aspirate ; 
instead of T and 3, we have and XZ respectively ; and for the 
diphthong OT, O alone is written, as well in the genitive case of the 
singular number, and the accusative of the plural ; as in the words 
BOTAHI and OTZ ; the diphthong is, however, retained in the first 



ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION. 



581 



syllable of the pronoun OTTOS throughout all the cases. The dative 
cases ending in A, E, O, are distinguished by the iota adscript. 

A fac-simile of the inscription was engraved at the expence of the 
Dilettanti Society, and was submitted to the learned of the age for 
observation and remark. It seems, however, to have elicited little 
or no illustration, for it is introduced with a few scanty notes in the 
volume of inscriptions subsequently published by Chandler. 

In attempting the translation of this remarkable piece of early 
writing, Chandler has failed in many instances, through the want of 
that architectural knowledge which those intimately acquainted with 
the details of Grecian buildings alone possess. In transcribing the 
inscription he has likewise erred in many important points, besides 
omitting several passages he was unable to decipher. 

The errors and omissions of that learned author chiefly occur in 
the terms of art, and in passages relating to the particulars of the 
building ; and hence it is that one who possesses a competent know- 
ledge of ancient architecture, although professing to have but a 
moderate acquaintance with the Greek language, may hope, by avail- 
ing himself of the labours of a more learned precursor, to give an 
interpretation of this technical inscription with better success, and to 
transcribe it with fewer errors. 

The transcript would have been less perfect but for the assistance 
of an eminent scholar, who, possessing a profound knowledge of 
Attic Greek, was enabled to decipher some passages of importance. 
To Mr. Elmsley I am indebted for the latter part of the forty-second 
line in the first column, and part of the ninety-first in the second, 
besides some other readings of less moment, which are noticed as 
they occur. 

I purpose dividing the inscription into its several passages, and at 
the same time to introduce such corrections as a laborious and atten- 
tive examination of the original marble, and a cast I caused to be 
taken, enable me to state with confidence. In doing this, I shall 
divest the original of those archaisms which belong to an early period 
of the Greek language. 



582 



ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION. 



The temple to which allusion is made, is mentioned by no particu- 
lar designation ; it is stated to be situated in the city, the original 
appellation of the Acropolis, and to be that in which the ancient 
statue was kept. This object of Athenian veneration is mentioned 
by Pausanias, amongst the relics preserved in the temple of Minerva- 
Polias. The statue was carved in wood of the olive, and was pro- 
bably one of those described by the traveller as still black from the 
effects of the conflagration with which the Acropolis was visited, 
amongst the other acts of violence inflicted upon Athens, after the 
Persians had obtained possession of the citadel. 

A little to the north of the Parthenon stand the ruins of the 
Erectheum, a double temple of the Ionic order of architecture. The 
two divisions of the building, although under one continued roof, are 
distinctly marked, the level of the one being eight feet below that of 
the other ; the difference in the levels commences at the transverse 
wall, separating the two cellse. 

Each division had its particular approach, the higher by an hexa- 
style portico at the east end, and the other by a portico of four 
columns, attached to the north-west angle of the building. There 
was also another approach to the lower division by a small staircase 
from the higher ground within a portico, which is remarkable from 
the circumstance of having statues instead of columns. The columns 
of the west were closed by a wall, excepting where three windows 
afforded light to the pronaos. 

The building has erroneously been termed a triple temple, dedi- 
cated to Erectheus, Minerva-Polias, and Pandrosus : the portico, 
where statues are introduced instead of columns, being supposed by 
modern travellers to be the Pandroseum of Pausanias. This author, 
however, calls the building a double temple, dedicated to Minerva- 
Polias and the nymph Pandrosus ; although when he speaks of it 
collectively, he calls it the Erectheum, from the circumstance of its 
occupying the site of the ancient temple of Erectheus, whose altar 
was still preserved in the entrance. 

Pausanias gives no information respecting the origin of the 
building, and none being furnished by earlier writers, the period of 



ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION. 533 

its commencement has been referred to a time subsequent to the 
burning of a temple of Minerva, which is recorded to have happened 
in the ninety-third olympiad. * The accident is erroneously thought 
by Stuart to have befallen the building in question, whereas the 
words of Xenophon describe the edifice to be the old temple of 
Minerva ; that is to say, the Hecatompedon, which the Greeks, in 
conformity with their general policy, suffered to remain unrepaired, 
as a monument of the sacrilegious violence of the barbarians who 
invaded Greece. Pausanias mentions several instances of this in- 
tentional neglect, and speaks of two temples in the vicinity of 
Athens which were suffered to remain, as he expresses it, Yiplzotvrot, 
for the reason assigned. The Erectheum was burned by the Persians, 
together with the whole of the Acropolis, but Herodotus alludes to 
it as still standing in the third year of the eighty-third olympiad, 
viii. 55. 

Pericles, who entertained the idea of rebuilding all the temples 
injured by the Persians, began with those of the Acropolis. The 
Parthenon was in all probability first undertaken, and completed 
before any progress was made in erecting the Propylaea ; for he only 
survived the completion of the latter building five years. Eleven 
years had elapsed before its commencement, since the death of Cimon 
insured to Pericles the sole control of the Athenian people : in 
this interval the Parthenon was probably erected. The Erectheum 
may have been begun after the Propylaea were finished, a short time 
before his death; although the inscription describes it as unfinished 
in the archonship of Diocles, twenty-one years subsequent to that 
event, and two years before the conclusion of the Peloponnesian war. 
But the interruption given to the progress of all works of ornament 
during that contention will sufficiently account for the delay in 
finishing it. 

The Erectheum was erected upon the site of the ancient temple, 
and in this instance the Greeks departed from their usual practice, by 



* Xenoph. Hist. Grsec. i. 6. 



584 



ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION. 



removing the ruins of the violated fane to make way for the new 
building. But in doing so, they were directed by a necessity which 
existed in no other instance. The sacred spring which their fore- 
fathers regarded with holy reverence, and the olive which the pn> 
tectress of Athens had caused to be created and to take root in the 
soil, were within this sanctuary, and identified with the spot; the 
site of the temple might be changed, but the sacred objects, for 
whose protection the temple had been reared, could not be re- 
moved. It is not possible that the present building should be a 
restoration of the ancient Erectheum ; for the inscription enters into 
the detail of too many particulars to permit of any other application 
than that to a recent and entirely new structure, approaching towards 
completion by a gradual progress. The basis of all the columns, the 
wall towards the west, upon which the columns of that are front 
elevated, the substructure of the portico towards the south, and 
other particulars in the lower part of the edifice, are described as still 
unfinished ; hence it is evident that the building was not undergoing 
that kind of repair which a conflagration would have rendered 
necessary ; for in this case, the new and unfinished work would have 
been almost exclusively confined to the upper parts. 

In the inscription the statues in the portico facing the south, are 
simply termed Kopal, the virgins; perhaps they were representations of 
those called Canephorce, who assisted at the great Panathenean 
festival ; two of them are said by Pausanias to have their residence 
near to the temple. Vitruvius calls statues so introduced, Caryatides, 
and relates a fanciful story of their supposed introduction, as objects 
of architectural embellishment. 

The survey begins at the angle of the building nearest to the 
Cecropium, or tomb of Cecrops. * It is manifest from the context 
that this monument was situated to the south of the temple; for in the 
56th line, it is said that " the wall facing the south wind is unpolished 



* "Avcu ye ev t>j 'AxponoKei KeKpowoj Vti T«<poj, wctpd. t^v YloKiov^ov uvTrjv. Theodoret. 
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HETER01TPIP 



ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION. 



585 



throughout, excepting within the portico near the Cecropium." 
This point established, we know where to look for the unfinished 
parts, which the inscription begins with enumerating.* 

The preceding Inscription divested of its Archaisms. 

[The figures refer to different readings in Chandler's copy; — see the end of the Inscription.] 

Eni^TATAl(l) TOT NEI2 TOT EN ITOAEI, EN ill TO APXAION ATA AM A, 
BP02TN. . H2 KHM^IETS, XAPIAAH2 AITTAH0EN (2), AlOAHS KH^I^IETS 
APXITEKT&N $IAOKAH3 (3) AXAPNET2, TPAMMATETS ETEAPXOS (4) 
KTAA0HNAIETS, TAAE (5) ANETPA4AN EPPA TOT NEX2, ill (6) KATEAABON 
EXONTA RATA TO *H*I^MA TOT AHMOT, O EHIPENHS EIFIEN 
EHEIPTA^MENA (7) KAI HMIEPrA EIII AIOKAEOS APXONTOS KEKPOniAOS 
nPTTANETOT^HS IIP&THS Eni THS B0TAH2 (8) HI NIK03>ANH2 
MAPA012NIO2 nPilTOS ErPAMMATETSEN. 

TOT NE& TAAE KATEAABOMEN HMIEPrA . 

Em THI TONIAI THI (9) nP03 TOT KEKPOniOT 
IIII nAINQOTS a A0ETOT2, MHKOS TETPAnOAAS 

n a atos a ino A AS, nAXOS 

TPIHMinOAIOTS . 

MASXAAIAIAN (10) b MHK02 TETPAnOAA 
nAATOS TPIHOAA, nAXOS TPI&N 

HMinoAmN . 

n EniKPANITIAAS c MHKOS TETPAnO 
AA% nAATOS TPinOAAS, nAXOS 
TPII2N HMinOAIiiN . 
r&NIAIAN d , MHKOS EHTAnOAA, 
nAATOS TETPAHOAA HAXOS 

TPmN HMinoAmN . 

rorrTAOTS aiqots e agetots • antimo 

P02 TAIS EniKPANITI^IN(ll), MHK02 
AEKAnOTS, T*OS TPII2N 

HMinoAmN . 



* The angle of the building nearest to the Cecropium is marked F. in the plan and view. 
The portico of the temple of Minerva- Polias is marked H. 

A, The temple of Minerva- Polias. B, the Pandroseum. C, The stylagalmatic portico. 
G, The entrance into the Pandroseum. 

The parts of the building distinguished by crossed lines, as well as the ground without, 
at N. and W., are eight feet lower than the rest of the building. Two walls, D,D, 
supported the higher ground. 

4 F 



586 



ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION. 



II ANTIMOPH TOIS EmSTTAIOlS, 

MHKOS TETPAnOAE, nAATOS IIEN 
TEITAAA^TO . 

I KIOKPANON f A0ETON 
METOnON TO ESOMENON 
nAATOS TPmN HMinOAmN nAXOS 

TPinN HMinoAmN . 

II EniSTTAIA g A0ETA, MHKOS OKTli 
IIOAA, nAATOS ATOIN IIOAOIN 
KAI nAAASTHS, nAXOS AIIIOAA . 

III EITISTTAIA h ANH ONTA EAEI 
EnEPrA2A20AI MHKOS OKTiillO 
AA nAATOS ATOIN nOAOIN KAI IIA 
AASTHS nAXOS AIIIOAA . 

TOT AE AOinOT EPTOT AnANTOS 
EN KTKAX2I APXEI O EAETSINIAKOS 
AI0OS 1 nPOS QI TA ZfflA (12) KAI ETE0H 
EIII TON EIII2TAT&N TOTTiiN 
TiiN KIONfiN k , TiiN EIII TOT TOIXOT 
TOT nPOS TOT nANAPO^EIOT . 
nn KEIMENX2N KIONiiN 

ATMHTA EK TOT ENTOS AN0E 
MIOT EKASTOT TOT KIONOS TPIA 
HMinOAIA . 

EniSTTAIOT OKT&nOAOS 
Eni TOT TOIXOT TOT IIP02 NOTON 
KTMATION ES TO ES& EAEI (13) 
EIII0EINAI . 

TAAE AKATAEESTA KAI 
APABAX2TA . (14) 

TON TOIXON 1 TON IIP02 NOTOT 
ANEMOT AKATAEES TON, 
ITAHN TOT m EN THI nPOSTASEI 
THI nPOS TGI KEKPOmm . 
TOTS OP0O2TATAS 8 AKATA 
EE2TOTS EK TOT ESH0EN EN KTKA12I 
F1AHN T&N EN THI nPOSTA 

2ei thi npos ra KEKPonmi . 

TAS SnEIPAS p AnASAS 
APPABAftTOTS (15) TA ANG0EN . 
TOTS KIONAS APABAflTOTS AnANTAS, 



ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION. 

ITAHN TON Eni TOT TOIXOT. THN KPHI1IAA q EN 

KTKA&I AnA^AN AKATAEESTON 

TOT TOIXOT TOT EKT02 AKATAEESTA, 

TOT TATAOT (16) AI0OT 1 TETPAnOAIAS OIII 

TOT EN THI nPO^TOMI (17) . . 

TETPAnOAIAS . . * . 

THS nAPASTAAOS . . . 

TETPAnOAIAS . . . 

TOT nPOS TOT TAAMATOS (18) 

TETPAnOAIAS 

EN THI nPOSTASEI nPOS 

TOT 0TP&MATOS. 

TON BftMON TOT 0THXOT (19) 

A0ETON- 

THS EnOPO*IAS S#HKlSKOTS (20) 
KAI IMANTAS A0ETOTS 
Eni THI nPOSTASEI THI nPOS Till 
KEKPOnmi. EAEI (21) 
III TOTS AI0OTS TOTS OPO<I>lAIOTS s TOTS 
Eni TON KOP&N c EnEPrASA 
S0AI AN&0EN, MHKOS TPI&N 
KAI AEKA nOA&N nAATOS nENTE 
nOAi2N. 

TAS KAAXAS v TAS Eni TOIS Em 
STTAIOIS EHEPrASAS0AI 
EAEI . . . 

AI0INA (22) nANTEAi2S EEEIPrASMENA 
A XAMAI- 

nAlN0OI TETPAnOAES MHKOS 
AI nAATOS AfflOAES, nAXOS 

TPIiiN HMinOAIfiN Ani2MATAI« 
I MASXAAIAIA MHKOS TETPA 

noTS nAATos TPinoTS nAXOS 
TPmN HMinoAmN. 

TOTTON EKASTOT, OTK EHEIPTA 
STAI O APMOS O ETEPOS OTAE 
01 OniS0EN APMOI. 
All MHKOS EKnOAES nAATOS AinO 
AES, nAXOS nOAIAIOI, 
TOTTON EKASTOT, OTK EEEIPIA 
STAI O APMOS O ETEPOS, OTAE 

4 f 2 



588 



ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION. 



01 OIII20EN APMOI . 
n TETPAIIOAES MHKOS IIAATOS Aino 
AE2 nAXOS nOAIAlOI, 
T0TT12N EKA2T0T OTK EHEIPTA 
STAI O APM03 O ETEP03 OTAE 
01 Oni^QEN APMOI- 
I nENTEnOT^ MHK03, IIAATOS AinOTS, 

nAxos noAiAios, 

TOTTOT APrOS O APM02 O ETE 
P02 KAI 01 OniS0EN APMOI- 
TEI2A x MHK02 TETPAIIOAA IIAATO^ 
lTII TPHIOAA nAXOS nENTEnAAA^TA, 
AEIA EKTIEnOIHMENA ANET KATA 
TOMHS . 
n ETEPiiN MErEOOS TO ATTON, 

KTMATIOT KAI A^TPATAAOT EKATEPOT 
ATMHTOI (23) HSAN TETTAPES II0AE2 • . 
EKA^TOT- 
II ETEPOIN, 

ATMHTOI HSAN TOT KTMATIOT, TETTAPES 
nOAES, TOT AE A2TPArAAOTOKTi2 nOAES . 
I ETEPOT, 

TOT KTMATIOT TPIA HMHIOAIA ATMHTA, 
ASTPArAAOT TETTAPES nOAES. 
I ETEPON, 

THN MEN AEIAN EPTA^IAN (24) EIPTA2TO 
III TOT AE KTMATIOT, APTOI nOAE^ HSAN EH (25) 
KAI HMinOAION, ASTPArAAOT, APTOI 
nOAE^ OKTfl. 
ETEP&N 

KTMATIOT EH nOAE^ APTOI 
ASTPArAAOT OKT& nOAE^ . 

I ETEPON 

HMIEPrON TH2 AEIAS EPTASIAS . 
IIII TftN AnO TH2 ST0A2 MHK02 TETPAnO 
AA nAATO^ TPinOAA nAXOS nENTE 
HAAASTA AEIA EKnEnOIHMENA 
ANET KATAT0MH2. 
riiNIAIA y EUl THN nPOSTA^IN THN 

II nPOS Ei2, MHK02 EKnOAE, nAATOS 
TETAPTOT HMinOAIOT, nAXOS 



ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION. 



589 



FIENTEIIAAASTA . 

TOTTON TOT ETEPOT, H AEIA MEN EPrA 
SIAS (26) ENEIPrASTO, TO AE KTMATION 
APEON (27) OAON, KAI O ASTPATAAOS, 
TOT AE ETEPOT, APTON KTMATIOT TPEIS 
nOAES KAI HMinOAION, TOT AE ASTPA 
IAAOT, APTOI nOAES nENTE . 
Eni TON TOIXON TON nPOS TOT nANAPOSEIOT 
MHKOS EIITAnOAliN, KAI HMIIIOAIOT, 
HAATOS TPlflN nOA&N KA1HMOTOAIOT, 
HMlEPrON. THS AEIAS EPrASlAS, 
MHKOS EKnOA&N nAATOS TPJ&N 

I nOAiiN KAI nAAASTHS nAXOS nENTE 
nAAAST&N (28) KAI TON TOIXON TON nPOS 
TOT nANAPOSEIOT, 

TOTTOTASTPATAAOT, ATMHTOI nOAES 
nENTE . 

AIETIAIOI « Ti2N AnO THS STOAS, MHKOS 
III EHTAnOAES, nAATOS TPIX2N nOA12N 
KAI HMinOAlOT nAXOS nOAIAIOI 
OTTOI HMIEPrOI . 

II ETEP& MHKOS nENTEnOAE nAATOS 
TPI&N nOA^N KAI HMinOAlOT nAXOS 
nOAIAOI HMIEPrOI . 

TEISA Eni TOTS AIETOTS * nAATOS 
nENTE HMinOAmN, MHKOS TETTA 
PilN nOA&N KAI HMinOAlOT nAXOS 
nOAIAIA, THN AEIAN EPr ASIAN 
EKTIEn OIHMEN • • 
I ETEPON HMIEPTON THS 

AEIAS EPTASIAS • 
II ©TPAI AI0INAI, MHKOS OKTQ nOA&N 
KAI nAAASTHS, nAATOS nENTE 

HMinoAmN 

UII TOTTflN TA MEN AAAA EHEnEnOI 

HTO EIS TA ZTrA (29) AE EAEI TOTS AI0 OTS 
TOTS MEAANAS EN0EINAI . 
I OTS Till TnEP0TPX2I (30) TM nPOS Eii 
HMIEPTON . 

Ill Till BGM&I TIM TOT ©THXOT (31) AI0OI nEN 



590 



ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION. 



TEAEIKOI, MHKOS TETPAnOAES, 
Y*02 ATOIN nOAOIN KAI nAAASTH^ 

nAxos noAiAioi . 

I ETEPOS TPinOTS . 



The following are some of the different readings in C handles? s copy. 

(1.) 01 Eni^TATAI 
(2.) AAPTLE0EN. 

(3.) This name is omitted in Chandler. 

(4.) EI1APX02. 

(5.) Ch. omits this word. 

(6.) H02A. . 

(7.) ENEPAASMENA. 

(8.) noLES, Ch. Mr. Elmsley reads B0LE2. 

(9.) EALEIHONTAI. 
(10.) MASXALIAN. 
(11.) EniKPANTI^IN. 

(12.) ZOLA KAI EPAOS, Ch. Mr. Elmsley reads ZOIA KAI 

ETE0E- 
(13.) ELS. Ch. 
(14.) APAPAOTA. Ch. 
(15.) APAPAOTOS. Ch. 
(16.) ZOAATLO LIOS. Ch. 
(17.) UVO% TO. Ch. 
(18.) TO ALAOMATOS. Ch. 
(19.) TOM BOM. Ch. 
(20.) This line is not given by Chandler. 
(21.) KLEI. Ch. 
(22.) AAEL0II7A. Ch. 
(23.) ATMHTO. 

(24.) TE2 MEN LEI AS EPAASIAS. Ch. 
(25.) EXSIS. 

(26.) HO LEIAS ENEPAASIAS. Ch. 

(27.) nOAlAION. Ch. 

(28.) nALASTOI. Ch. 

(29.) A A ETA EI. Ch. AE EAEI, Elmsley. 

(30.) POTTPOI. Ch. 

(31.) TOI TOMOI TOI TO OT ESO. Ch. 



ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION. 



591 



Translation. 

Brosyn . . . es of Cephisia, Chariades of Agryle, Diodes of Cephi- 
sia, the epistatae of the temple in the citadel, in which is the antient 
statue ; Philocles of Acharnas the architect, Etearchus of Cydathe- 
nseum the secretary ; have reported the works completed and half- 
finished, as they found them to be, according to the decree of the 
people proposed by Epigenes, in the archonship of Diocles ; the 
Cecropic tribe presiding in the council, in which Nicophanes of Mara- 
thon was secretary of the first prytany. 

We have found these parts of the temple half-finished at the 
angle nearest the Cecropium. 

IV. Tiles * a not placed, four feet in length, two feet in width, a foot 

and a half in thickness. 
I. Shoulder tile f b four feet in length, three feet in width, a foot. 

and a half in thickness. 



* The tiles were slabs of marble wrought with great precision ; every precaution calcu- 
lated to keep out the wet being adopted in the mode of their formation. The meeting 
joints of the tiles in the same line were saddled, as it is now termed ; that is, a rim, raised 
above the surface, was left on each side ; so that if any wet found admission under the nar- 
row strips that covered the meeting joint of two contiguous tiles, its further progress was 
prevented. A similar kind of rim was left at the top of each tile, and the under side of the 
one next above it was throated, or grooved, where it overlapped the other. The tiles 
usually varied in length and breadth according to the scale of the building. In temples of 
no great magnitude, such as the Erectheum, they were about two feet wide. The tiles at 
the eaves of the roof were formed out of the sloping blocks immediately above the cornice, 
which were almost invariably equal in width to two tiles. These are the tiles alluded to 
in the beginning of the survey. The common tiles were seldom more than four inches 
thick; they were sometimes made with clay, although every other part of the building was 
marble. Where gutters were introduced at the eaves, they were hollowed out of these 
blocks : the front of such gutters were formed into a molding, which Vitruvius calls the 
sima. Whether or not gutters were carried along the eaves, the sima was made to sur- 
mount the cornice of the pediments, and was returned for a short distance round the angle 
of the cornice. 

t The tile here alluded to was probably that at the point or extremity of the pediment, 
which was returned along the flank. It might be so termed, because here they were 
placed immediately upon the humeri, as Vitruvius, speaking of this temple, calls the re- 
turns of the building at the angles of the front. 



592 



ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION. 



V. Epicranitides * c four feet in length, three feet in width, a foot 

and a half in thickness. 
I Angular -j d (epicranitis) seven feet in length, four feet wide, a 

foot and a half in thickness. 

Eaves joint-titles J e not placed. 

I Continuation § of the epicranitides, ten feet in length, a foot and 
a half in height. 

II Portions in continuation of the epistylia||, four feet in length, 
five palms in width. 

I Capital of a column f , to be above the window-jamb II", not 
placed ; a foot and a half wide ; a foot and a half in thickness. 

V Epistylia** 8 not placed, eight feet long, two feet and a palm wide, 
two feet in thickness. 



* The Epicranitides were tiles forming the sima, or top-bed of the cornice belonging to 
the pediments. 'E.TrUpa.vov, from which the term is derived, signifies fastigium and vertex. 
— Poll. lib. ii. c. 4. 3. 

f The angular Epicranitis was that at the vertex of the fastigium, or pediment. 

X ToyydKoi Aifloi, I imagine to be the upright circular pieces, terminating the joint-tiles 
at the eaves or gutters of the roof. By joint-tiles I mean those which were placed over 
the meeting joints of the flat tiles; they were equal to them in length, but narrow; re- 
sembling in their outward form an hexagonal prism cut in two. They extended from the 
iidge of the roof down to the eaves, or gutters. In some temples, these, as well as the 
common, or flat tiles, were made of clay. The imbrex^ or eaves-tile, of potter's earth, 
was termed by the Greeks o-royyuAoe»S>}f, or yoyyvAoetirjs, xepupos : when made of marble, 
the word a/Soj would probably be substituted for xega/Ao^. The joint-tiles are mentioned 
in a subsequent part of the inscription. 

§ Avr/pjgos means, I presume, a corresponding portion, or continuation, of the member 
of the building with which the term is conjoined, perhaps the contiguous piece. 

|| The epistylia were blocks extending from centre to centre of two adjoining columns. 
In temples where columns were not employed to form a peristyle round the building, as in 
the example before us, the epistylia were nevertheless continued along the flanks. The 
two portions alluded to in this passage are said to be adjoining or contiguous, probably to 
the five mentioned almost immediately afterwards. 

MercjTrov, that part of the forehead immediately above the interval between the eyes. 
In this place it means part of the building above the interval, or jamb, between two 
windows. 

** The epistylia here alluded to, seem to be those upon the wall, beginning from the 
angle of the building. The length of each piece being eight feet, the extent of all five 
together would have been greater than the length of the building in front. One described 



ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION. 



593 



III Epistylia which are up b (in their places) require to be worked 
on the surface, eight feet in length, two feet and a palm in width, 
two feet in thickness. The Eleusinian stone ', against which are 
the sculptures *, surmounts the rest of the work all around, and 
is placed above the epistylia f of those columns • which are upon 
the wall next the Pandroseum, 

Of IV engaged columns J, a foot and a half of each column is 
left unsculptured, measured from the volute § within. 
It is necessary to place the inner cymatium of I epistylium, 
eight feet long, upon the wall towards the south. — These are 



in a subsequent passage, of equal length, is said to have been upon the south wall: 
whence it is probable that these also were part of the same range in the flank of the 
temple. 

* A remarkable singularity is to be observed in the construction of the Erectheum. 
The facing of the frize, and of the tympanum of the remaining pediment, is formed of a 
hard stone, similar to that found in the neighbourhood of Eleusis. It is studded with 
iron cramps, which formerly served to fasten either bronze or marble sculptures. The 
word £t»a signifies, as Facias observes, small statues. " Mihi quidem Jia et £co§ja minu- 
tiora varii generis simulacra denotare videntur." — Ad Pausan. v. 11. 

f The word eirtvTUTov is one of rare occurrence; it is found in the Sigean inscription, 
where it seems to allude to the base or stand of the consecrated vase. On this account, 
Chandler supposed it to signify, in this place, the bases of the columns. These, however, 
are mentioned in a subsequent passage, under the common denomination vxeipai. 

In another Athenian inscription (given in Chandler's work, pp. xviii. 43.), which is 
nearly coeval with that under discussion, the base or stand of a consecrated vase is termed 
imoa-rurov ; whence it seems evident that Imcrrcurov is an Attic word, and signifies here, 
something placed over the columns. 

Mr. Elmsley supposes the sentence to end with the words litwraxmv tovtcov. The 
epistatae are, however, speaking in the first person, and the works in the preamble are 
said to be done under Diocles the archon, and not under the epistatas. Besides, the 
actual existence of Eleusinian stone in the frize of the temple, makes it evident that the 
eCT»crT«Ta, over which it is described as placed, must be synonymous with the epistylia. 

X The blocks of marble out of which the capitals of the four columns of this front are 
formed, constitute part of the wall in which they appear inserted. The parts of them thus 
immured were consequently unsculptured. 

§ Chandler, from Hesychius, supposes the word «v0e'|*»ov to signify some place in the 
Acropolis ; but in the same lexicon we find another explanation ; ») yga/x/x,>f rig eXixonlr^ 
sv toij xjWj, some spiral shaped line in columns ; that is to say, the volute. Vitruvius 
terms the volutes of the Corinthian capital, helices. 

4 G 



594 



ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION. 



unpolished and unfluted.* The wall 1 facing the south wind is 
unpolished, excepting in the portico m opposite the Cecropium. 
The antae n without are unpolished throughout, excepting in the 
portico opposite the Cecropium. 

The bases f p of all the columns are unfluted in the upper part. 
All the columns are unfluted excepting those upon the wall. 
The whole plinth | q is unpolished all around. 
Parts unpolished of the exterior wall. Four feet lengths of the 
gutter-stone §,' VIII in the entrance || . . . . four feet lengths 
next the pilaster .... four feet lengths near the statue .... four 
feet lengths in the portico in front of the door-way. 
The altar of the Thyecus f is not placed. 



* ApctfitiwTos and appa(3SwToj, for it is written both ways, signifies not jluted. Chandler 
reads ugx^orog, in which he has been followed by the learned author of the Prolegomena in 
Homerum. Upon submitting my reading of the word to that profound and elegant 
scholar, he expressed his conviction of its propriety. 

f The upper torus of the bases are found to have been fluted in a manner similar to 
the shafts of the columns. 

% The columns of the western front, and the statues supporting the south portico of the 
building, are raised upon a podium or low wall; the xp>]7ri; is the footing, or plinth, of this 
wall. 

§ Chandler here reads KOAATLOLIOS, but the true reading is, TO AATLO LI0O, sc. 
Toii youXov Ai'flou. The first letter has a mark below it such as is found below the initial 
letters in many of the lines of the inscription, which gives it the appearance of the ancient 
The yuv\o; xfto; was, perhaps, the stone forming the cistern or trough, into which the 
water from the salt-spring, or well, in the Pandroseum, flowed; or, more probably, the 
gutter-stone which conveyed the water rising from the spring away from the building ; 
because of its being under the head of the parts unpolished of the exterior wall. Along 
the wall in the flank, of the temple of Diana-Propylasa at Eleusis, there is a gutter-stone of 
the kind here alluded to. 

|| IIpoo-TOf<.iov, the opening between the door-jambs. As the windows of the building 
were metaphorically termed the eyes, so the door-way was called the mouth. Vitruvius, 
who preserves the same kind of metaphor, calls the passage leading from the door-way to 
the atrium, or court of the house, fauces, vi. 4. 

1j This word, of which the two first letters are wanting, was in all probability ©TEXO. 
This may be inferred from a passage towards the end of the inscription in which all the 
letters remain perfect. Tw ficuptZ ru> tou fio^o'ov a/Soi •n-evTeAeixoi, x. t. A. 



ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION. 595 

Of the coping * over the portico opposite the Cecropium the 
dovetails f and cramps are not placed ; it was necessary that III 
ceiling stones s supported by the statues J, 1 should have the 
upper surface tooled, thirteen feet in length, five feet in width. 
It is necessary that the echinus molding §, v above the epistylia, 
should be finished. 



From Photius we learn that the flu^o'oi were ol Upct; oi virep u.\hwv fiuovrsj toTj flsoTj. Some 
of the MSS. of this author write the word Su^xooi-; that of Beckius, quoted by Herman, 
gives it with the 

* The kwopotpix is the inclined and outward surface of the roof. This portico is covered 
with four blocks of marble extending from the south wall of the temple over the epistylia 
or marble beams, supported by the statues. The cornice of the portico is worked in these 
blocks. The gentle inclination given to the upper surface was for the purpose of throwing 
off' the rain. The under surface of the same blocks formed the ceiling; it is divided into 
pannels deeply sunk in the marble. 

The numerals of the inscription make the number of blocks to be tooled three. Each 
block measures twelve feet ten inches in length : they are not all of equal width ; two of 
them exceed, and two of them fall something short of five feet. The width of the four 
together is somewhat less than twenty feet six inches, so that they may be said to average 
five feet one inch and a half. 

f 2$ijx»Vx<h were small tenons of metal in the shape of two wedges, united at-the points. 
Vitruvius calls them securiculce, iv. 7« They were likewise termed yopfoi. 

% The word KOPON is one of those which Chandler was at a loss to explain, under the 
impression that its nominative must be xopog* It here alludes to the statues of females, 
which, in this portico, supply the place of columns. By the modern Greeks they are still 
/ called xogltya, the damsels. 

§ KaX^i], the word here applied to the ornament over the epistylia of the stylagalmatic 
portico, signifies the shell fish which produced the scarlet dye of the Tyrians. K«A^y ( y«p 
!o~nv 6 xo^Aoj rf^ 'stoptpvpa.c,. Schol. in Hesych. Hesychius likewise explains it to denote 
some part of the capital of a column, p£po$ xeyaAij; xjo'voj : that part probably of the Ionic 
capital which is now termed the ovalo. Vitruvius calls this molding the Echinus, because, 
perhaps, it was a type of the shell-fish of the same name ; the shell and its spines being 
represented in a continued ornament, to which has been given the vulgar name of . Egg 
and dart. 

It was the practice of the Greeks to paint with red the moldings of the cornice and 
other parts of the building. This has been done in the Propylaja at Athens. At Rham- 
nus the cornice of the temple of Nemesis has been thus ornamented all around. The 
parts tinted with red stand out beyond the rest, the colour having resisted the corrosion 
which attacked the natural surface. A solution of dragon's blood is found to harden the 
surface of marble to such, a degree, that if a piece partially stained be exposed to the action 

4 g 2 



596 



ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION. 



Stone-work lying upon the ground wholly finished. 

XI Tiles four feet long, two feet wide, a foot and a half in thickness, 
without the covers. * 

I Shoulder tile w , four feet long, three feet wide, a foot and a half 
in thickness. 

Of each of these, the alternate joint is not finished, nor the joints 
behind. 

XII Six feet long, two feet wide, a foot in thickness ; of each of these 
the alternate joint is not finished, nor the joints behind. 

V Four feet long, two feet wide, a foot in thickness ; of each of these 
the alternate joint is not finished, nor the joints behind. 

I Five feet long, two feet wide, a foot in thickness ; of this the 
alternate joint is not worked, nor the joints behind. 

VII Eaves f x four feet long, three feet wide, five palms in thickness, 
worked smooth without the carving. 

Of V others the size was the same, of both the cymatium and 
astragal, four feet were not carved of each. 

Of II others there were uncarved, of the cymatium four feet, of 
the astragal eight feet. 

Of I other a foot and a half of the cymatium, and four feet of the 
astragal were not carved. 
I Other, the smooth work was done, but of the cymatium of III 



of a strong acid, the part which is not covered will be eaten away to a considerable depth, 
and the tinted part will have the appearance of being in relief. 

I should have supposed that these painted ornaments were intended by the word 
AOLKyax, but for the word e%epyx<r<x.<r<}izi, which is applied in other parts of the inscription, 
to signify some operation performed by the masons upon the marble. 

* The word aww^aTai, which I have lately corrected from an inspection of the inscrip- 
tion, alludes to the absence of the tiles covering the joints of the flat tiles. 

f 17(0- a, the caves or cornice. Upon this member of the entablature the moldings are 
carved. The eaves are here said to be Xeicn IxTrgwoojjas'va aveo x«t«to/w%; by which is pro- 
bably meant that they were, at the time of the survey, worked as plain moldings, prepara- 
tory to the enrichment, or carving upon them. The lower moldings of the cornice were 
a cymatium and astragal. 



ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION. 597 

there was un wrought six feet and a half; of the astragal eight 
feet unwrought. 

Of . . others, six feet of the cymatium unwrought, of the astragal 
eight feet. 

I Other, half worked, as to the smooth work. 

IV belonging to the portico four feet in length, three feet in 
width, five palms in thickness ; of these the smooth work is 
finished with out the carving. II angular y (eaves) upon the por- 
tico facing the east, six feet in length, three feet and a half in 
width, five palms in thickness. Of the one of these the 
smooth work is done, but the cymatium is wholly unwrought, 
and the astragal ; of the other — of the cymatium three feet 
and a half are unwrought, and of the astragal five feet are 
unwrought. 

Upon the wall next the Pandroseum, seven feet and a half in 
length, three feet and a half in width, are half finished. 
Of smooth work, six feet in length, three feet and a palm in 
width, five palms in thickness. 

And I upon the wall next the Pandroseum, the astragal of this 
has five feet uncarved. 
VI Stones of the fastigium * a belonging to the portico, seven feet 
long, three feet and a half wide, a foot in thickness ; these half 
finished. 

II Others five feet long, three feet and a half wide, a foot in thick- 
ness ; half finished. 

The eaves upon the pediment /?, two feet and a half in width, 
four feet and a half in length, a foot in thickness, the smooth 
work finished. 
I Other half finished as to the smooth work. 



* AistjSioi, sc. \IQ01, are the slabs forming the face of the tympanum of the pediment. 
The facing of this part of the building is done with vertical joints, one course of stone in 
height. Like the facing of the frize, the stone is that called Eleusinian. 



598 



ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION, 



V Stone door-frames eight feet and a palm in length, two feet and 
a half in width ; of IV of these, some were wholly completed, 
but it was necessary to place the black marble* against the 
supercilia. f 

I Consol | to the hyperthyrum facing the east, half finished. 

Ill Pentelican stones to the altar .of the Thyecus, four feet in length, 

two feet and a palm in height, a foot in thickness. 
I Other, three feet 

Remarks on the preceding Anagraphe, by the Editor. 

It is well known that many of the public edifices of Greece were 
built by contract ; those who undertook the work were called 
IpyoAa/Soj ; those who placed it out to them were l^yfrrta-jotru), and the 
^oKtfjLo.a-T'xi were the persons who examined it, when it was § finished. 
The title of ima-TotTa) was peculiarly applied to those who inspected 



* The situation of the black marble between the ?uy«, or transverse pieces of the door- 
frame, and the hyperthyra, or cornices above it, is analogous to that of the marble frize 
between the epistylia and cornice. The black marble was therefore the same, probably, 
as that mentioned in the forty-second line, under the epithet Eleusinian. Pausanias men- 
tions a black stone or marble found under Parnassus, of which the walls of the city of 
Ambryssus were built. The temple and statue of Diana at the same place were also of the 
same material ; it was remarkable for its hardness. Pausan. x. 36. The stone found 
around Parnassus is of similar formation with that produced by the quarries of Eleusis. 

The numeral letter prefixed to this sentence, was probably IT, although it has now the 
appearance of two units; this, as well as the one next above and below it, are all placed too 
high up in the inscription ; each should have ranged one line lower. 

f The upright pieces of a door-frame were called by the Romans, antepagmenta, and 
those placed across them, supercilia. The latter are the Xpya. of the Greeks. In some in- 
stances, nothing intervened between the supercilium and hyperthyrum; although very 
often a sculptured frize was intermediately placed. 

%'Ovi is the handle of a vase, so called from its resemblance to the human ear. Ears 
of the kind alluded to here, are something similar in shape to the Greek letter £. Vitruvius 
calls these ornaments ancones and parotides. The last word I have corrected from the 
edition of Vitruvius, published by Schneider, which has only very lately fallen into my 
hands. The mnhs are termed by us consols, from the French console. 

§ Dodvvcll, Ann. Thuc. 135^; Athenoe, lib. vi.; Herod, vi. c. 62. 



ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION, 



599 



the public works. (Pollux, lib. vii. c. 33.) The word occurs in the 
first line of the preceding inscription, which is a report of the survey 
of the temple, partly finished, made by the Epistatse, whose names 
are mentioned, and by the architect Philocles. Ta.h ttveypcctydv epyu 
rou veco, " they took an account of the work of the temple j" the in- 
scription therefore is properly an dvccypxtpvi *, recensio ; it was made in 
the archonship of Diocles, 409 B.C., in that meeting of the senate 
in which Nicophanes was the secretary of the first prytany. f The 
inscription was written six years before the archonship of Euclid ; 
and is about fifty years posterior to the celebrated marble X relating to 
those of the tribe Erectheis who had perished in battle ; a copy of 
which is given by Montfaucon, Palse. 1. ii., and by Maffei, Mus. 
Veron. After the archonship of Euclid, y was no longer written A, 
nor the lambda L, in which form they both appear in the Athenian 
marble. The use of o for ov seems to have been retained to a later 
age, until the time of the Macedonian aera. § Although H occurs as 
an aspirate in the inscription, yet it is certain that this character, 
used as a letter, as well as €>, was known in the time of Euripides, 
who died before the archonship of Euclid ; and Callias, a poet prior 
both to Sophocles and Euripides, has described the form of Y and XI ; 
and H as well as XI occur on some of the Macedonian coins of the 
fifth century B. C. || 

L. 1. 'Ei/ 7ro\ei. This expression has not always been properly un- 
derstood ; see Larcher, Herodotus, i. 453. lb. u.yu\pct. It is re- 



* ' kvctyqoL$siv, proprie de iis rebus, quae solenniter describuntur et in tabulas referuntur. 
Sluiter, Lec. Andoc. 201. 

f YlpwTog lypaft/xareyo-ev, Greffier de la premiere Prytanie. See Barthelemy, Mem. de 
l'Acad. xlviii. 407- 

% The true date of this inscription is fixed by Barbeyrac. Anci. Traites, p. 110. 
Montfaucon referred it to the year 445) B.C., when Cimon died ; but the war of Egypt 
mentioned in it, is of the date 463 ; and that of iEgina, of 457- 

§ Taylor, Sand. Marm. viii. 

|| Knight, Proleg. ad Homerum, sect. 78. See also Valesius in Not. Mauss. Har- 
pocrat., who supposes the Ionic letters were used privately, but not publicly received 
before the archonship of Euclid, Oly. xciv. 2. 



600 



ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION. 



markable that the rude statue of Minerva-Polias was preserved by 
the Athenians to so late a period as the age of Plutarch. See Euseb. 
Prasp. E. L.iii c. 8., and Wessel. Prob. p. 310. 

L. 2. ' AyouXvjfov. See Harpocrates in v. 'A^tAij. This word and 
'AypeivXr, have been improperly confounded by some writers ; see 
Corsini, F. A. Diss. v. 

L. 6. The archonship of Diodes does not commence before July in 
the year 409 B.C., for the archonship of Glaucippus finished at the 
end of June in that year. Barthelemy, Mem. des In. xlviii. 407. 

L. 23. Toyydxov; \i9ovg. There is some difficulty in pointing out the 
part of the building to which these words refer. The scholiast on 
the Pax of Aristophanes, v. 28., merely uses the expression, IVtj Je 
xa) yoyyvXog Xi&oc, without giving any elucidation. 

L. 29. llotXatrTi] to ptrpov, says Phrynichus, uvw toZ i. In this form 
it always occurs in the inscription. It is also found without the iota 
in one of the MSS. of Herodotus, Cod. Med. ; see Oudendorp ad 
Thom. M. 674. On the Nilometer of Elephantine we find 7raXa«rro/, 
(see Girard's Memoire,) but the inscription there is of the age of 
Severus. 

L. 30. As Kioxptzvov occurs in the inscription, it may be sufficient 
authority for the word in those places, where some propose to alter it 
to Ktovoxpoivov. Pollux, 1. vii. 121. 

L. 34. The expression used by Euripides to denote this part of a 
building, is Xoiiva. kioo-iv 'ipfioXa, Bacch. 591., lapidece trabes columnis im- 
positce. See D'Orville, Charit. ii. 626. 

L. 38. 'ETrep^. This word, as Heyne remarks, is applied by Pausanias 

to work in relief, au(j vakts^ov 11 tov K^ocvovg ypu7reg eitriv eTrttpyoto pivot, 

" on each side of the helmet are griffins worked in relief," L. i. In 
the language of the Greek artists, irepupuvvj tydtcc, are " figures in high 
relief;" iv^oo-iuiva *, " those in low relief." See Schweigh. in Athenae. 
L v. c. 38. 



* Tunas is the word applied to sculpture in relief in general ; see the passage already 
cited, p. 380. of this volume, from the Hypsipyle of Euripides. 



ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION* 



601 



JL. 42. ITpoV u roi ^a, or, as the inscription gives it, ZOIA ; and in this 
manner the word is properly written (£w/i>i/, i. e. Z^uv^'m. a MS. of 
Antigonus Carystius. See Bast. Epis. Crit. p. 82. ZjQIA also occurs 
in an inscription in the Mus. Veron. p. xviii. Zulu is the certain 
reading of Mr. Elmsley, instead of ZOAA, which Chandler gives in 
his copy of the Inscription. Z^a signifies the figures in relief on the 
temple ; in this sense the word occurs in Empedocles, y^x-mois cs 
gcuottri, not pictis animalibus, but painted figures; see Athen. Schweigh, 
lib. xii. c. 3. ; and in Diodorus S. Excer. 606. t^uov signifies a figure > 
" Antiochus employed himself with pieces of mechanism, and with 
moving by means of them figures of five cubits in height, silvered 
and gilded, Zax •jnw<*.-m\x ot "' 

L. 45. The sacred olive is said by Apollodorus, (lib. iii.) to be in the 
Pandroseum ; by Herodotus, (lib. viii.) in the temple of Erectheus ; 
by Pausanias, (lib. i.) in the temple of Minerva. All these passages 
are reconciled by considering, that the chapels or buildings were 
connected together. 

L. 64. ^.TTs^ac. This word is solely applied to the bases of Ionic 
columns. See I. Pollux. 

L. 65. y Apxl3$uTovc } "unfluted:" £a'£<L<n? is the word used by Aristotle 
to denote the fluting of a column ; (see Schneider in His. An. iv. c. iv.) 
In Diodorus S. we find ^tx^va-^ara. employed in the same sense ; they 
are the strigiles of Vitruvius. See Wesseling, in lib. xiii. 607. " The 
body of a man, says the historian, when speaking of the temple of 
Jupiter Olympius at Agrigentum, might be fitted in the fluted parts 
of the columns." 

At this day, we may still see at Girgenti, a portion of the enta- 
blature, with a Triglyph, and the upper part of one of the columns ; 
and if we take 18 inches (French), as the breadth of one of the 
flutes at this portion of the column, and add a sixth for the breadth 
of one in the lower part, we shall find more than sufficient space for 
the body of a man. See Quatremere, Mem. 1815. 

In an inscription on one of the Oxford marbles, some columns are 
called xioveg Kvpfiexxirxi ; these words are translated by Selden, 

4 H 



602 



ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION. 



columnce striata ; but Reinesius proposes another interpretation. Mar. 
Ox. 512. Ed. Maittaire. 

L. 81. Z<pyiKi<r>covc, "the dove tails, tenons of metal;" Wilkins: 
trtpviKUfAa. o $t<r[*.og ; Hesjchius : ttowto, (rvvecrcpTjuucrev, " omnia compegit 
simnV Diog. L. in v. Anax. 

L. 85. 'Opo^/a^u^, A. " ceiling stones." This word is only found in the 
present inscription, and in a dialogue of the 12th century, entitled 
Timario, which may be seen in the Notice des MSS. du Roi. ix. 

L. 86. Lessing objects to the origin given by Vitruvius, lib. i. to the 
name Caryatides, (the KOPAI of the inscription,) as applied to 
columns ; he does not think the town of Caryse was of consideration 
enough to join the Persians in their- invasion of Greece. But we are 
expressly told by Herodotus, lib. viii. "that some Arcadians sided with 
the Persians ; and there was Caryse, a town in Arcadia, a borough of 
the Pheneatae, as well as in Laconia. The fact, therefore, men- 
tioned by Vitruvius may be true ; only we should read with Larcher, 
(ad Herod, lib. viii.) civitas Pheneatarum, instead of civitas Peloponnesi. 

The Caryatides of Praxiteles are mentioned by Pliny, lib. xxxvi. c. 5., 
as well as those which were placed by the sculptor Diogenes on 
columns to decorate the Pantheon of Agrippa ; but no instance re- 
mains of any building, belonging to the pure age of Athenian 
architecture, in which we find them used, except in the Pandroseum 
of Athens. 

L. 120. 'Ejd7T£7roi)7^ei/«. This word implies " finished work." " The 
Propylaca were finished, tfciTroivfivj" Heliodorus in Harpocratio in v. Ilpo. 
Herodotus says, " the stones of the Pyramids were finished off." 
This is the translation of Dr. Hales. 

L. 148. TETfldprou vjfA.nro^ov, " three feet and a half." The meaning of 
this numeral form among the Greeks has not always been correctly 
explained ; thus, rera^rcv yfAiTcZxavTov, is three talents and a half ; but 
vevre ypiTaXavTsi, are not four talents and a half, as Kuhnius translates 
the words ; they mean only two talents and a half. See Hemster. in 
Poll. ix. c. 6. note 88. and the Addenda. 



i 



ARCHITECTURAL INSCRIPTION. 



603 



L. 166. Aierixtot, " the stones of the pediment," the 'Aero . It is 
worthy of remark, that this word is found in an inscription on the 
entablature of a temple at Antaeopolis in Egypt ; it is not therefore 
appropriated solely to the triangular form. Hamilton's iEgyp. 395. 

L. 186. OS TOI HTnEP0TPOL The uVepflupov is described by Kuhnius 
as that part, " supra supercilium sub corona, vicem quodammodo zophori 
gerens." Pollux, i. c. 8. Mr. Howes translates it " lintel" in Odys. vii. 
in the description of the palace of Alcinous. (On Books, t. i.) A 
balcony over the door was called to 7r$oZx°v tov uVspfJupcu ; it is the 
(TTvfixo of the later Greeks. See Salm. H. A. 155. 




J.(rfuioru Published (Jet r / ■ i&J'J by Jtorurman , ffurst .Jites , Orme kJHrott-n , Fattrn-oster Row. 

4 h 2 



( 604 ) 



REFERENCES TO MR. LESLIE FOSTER'S MAP OF THE TROAU. 

The annexed map does not lay claim to perfect accuracy ; but on a 
subject which has given rise to so much controversy every degree of 
evidence may be of some value. 

It was constructed by observations of angles made from a variety 
of stations ; principally the hill of Yenicher, the tomb of Ajax, the 
tomb of iEsyetes, and the Pergamus. The instrument with which 
they were observed was merely a small mariner's compass with sights 
adapted to it. 

A. The plain of Troy perfectly level ; in general dry and tolerably 
well cultivated. Its produce corn and pasturage. 

1. The fortress of Koum Kale. 

2. The town of Koum Kale, supposed to contain about 2000 in- 
habitants, all Turks. 

3. Seven Windmills. 

4. The village of Yenicher, inhabited by Greeks. The hill on 
which it stands was probably the Sigaean promontory in the time of 
the Trojan war. From hence to the fort is sand, different from the 
soil of the plain, and seems to have been formed by the river. 

C. A shoal of sand. 

d. Here probably was the line of shore formerly. 

5. A tumulus on the brow of the hill, 24 feet high towards the 
plain, supposed to be the tomb of Achilles. 

6. A tumulus in the plain. 

7. A Turkish cemetery, on a rising heap of earth, but whether 
natural or artificial it seems difficult to determine. 

8. A wooden bridge ; the river is here 465 feet broad. 
M. A perpendicular chalk cliff about 100 feet high. 

9. The ancient confluence of the Simois and Scamander. 



THE TROAD. 



605 



10. A stone bridge of four arches and 60 feet long, built over the 
ancient bed of the Scamander issuing from the marsh (12). The water 
was barely moving in this channel in May 1803. The channel was 
no where less than 20 feet broad. 

11. A rising heap of earth; it may be doubted whether it is 
natural or the remains of a tumulus. 

12. Deep marshes, and pools of water. 

13. A tumulus 24 feet high. 

14. A narrow drain through which the water issues from the marsh 
rapidly. 

15. The river Simois. The channel filled with water was no less 
than 200 feet broad in May 1803. 

16. Kallifatli, village. 

17. Marshes on each side of the ancient bed of the Scamander. It 
is impossible in this part to distinguish the channel. 

18. Village of Yeni Keui. 

19. A tumulus. 

20. A singular shaped chalk cliff. 

21. An artificial canal which diverts the greater part of the waters 
of the Scamander ; this canal, at the place marked 22, where it 
branches off from the river, is carried along the brow of the hill to 
preserve the level ; a proof that it is artificial. 

23. The river Scamander. 

24. A Turkish village. 

25. The tomb of iEsyetes, about 100 feet high. 

26. Marshes full of the Arundo donax about the bed of the 
Scamander. 

27. 28. The sources of the Scamander, both cold in May, 1803 ; 
but reported by the Turks to be hot, and to smoke in winter. 

29. A gently rising hill, insulated in the plain. 

30. A rough rocky hill, at the bottom, above the sources producing 
wild fig-trees. Quaere the 'Ep^soV. 

31. Qncere whether the place thus marked is not the site of the 
ancient Scasan gate. 



606 



THE TROAD. 



32. Turkish village of Bournabashi, containing about 20 houses. 

33. A Turkish cemetery full of fragments of granite and marble of 
rude workmanship, and very great antiquity. 

34. A valley between the Erineos and the site of Troy. 

35. This dotted line marks what was possibly the boundary of the 
city On the north. 

36. A tumulus of stones and earth. 

37. A tumulus of stones, probably the tomb of Hector. It stands 
on a naked rocky hill, on the brow of a precipice rising immediately 
from the river, at least 300 feet perpendicular. 

38. Dubious remains of a tumulus. 

39. A tumulus. Qucere, did the wall of Troy enclose this hill ? 

40. The precipice, on the brow of which was the Pergamus. 

41. A most beautiful romantic valley ; in spring the river overflows 
its whole breadth. 

42. A deep ravine between the Pergamus and the city. 

43. A steep rocky mountain. 

44. A gently swelling hill, probably Callicolone. 

45. Tchiblak, a Turkish village. 

46. The village and valley of Thimbrek. 

47. Halel Eli ; in the cemetery, there are remains of a temple. 

48. Koum Keui ; in the cemetery considerable remains. 

49. The tomb of Ajax. 

50. A tumulus. 

51. Marshes overflowed by the Hellespont. This seems to have 
been the station of the fleet. 

52. Mouth of the river. 

53. Steep rocky mountains extending to the Dardanelles. 

The dotted line denotes the track pursued by the drawer of the 
map. 



THE TROAD. 



607 



Remarks on the Demetrian System of the Troad, by the Editor. 

(The references are made to Mr. Leslie Foster's map.) 

1. Course of the Simois. It is plainly stated by Demetrius when 
speaking of the two rivers, Scamander and Simois, that the former 
approaches Sigseum, the latter Rhseteum ; o re Znupavfyog xai o Ltpo&ig' 
o fiev tw Eiry&tu TrX^mottra^ 6 oe Voitsiu. L. xiii. There is no other 
stream in the whole plain, to which the words alluding to the Simois 
apply, but that in the valley of Gheumbrek. The course of it may 
be seen* in Sir W. Gell's map*; and it may be said to pass to the 
south of fig. 46., in Mr. Foster's map, to continue to run by fig. 47., 
and then to the north of fig. 48. The stream is called in Dr. Hunt's 
journal Kamara Sou -f •, or the aqueduct river, from a building of this 
nature which crosses the stream at another part of the Troad. 

2. The Shimar of Professor Carlyle, (the Kalefatli of Dr. Clarke,) 
flows in a direction south of fig. 44. 45., 44. towards fig. 16., where is 



* At the season of the year, in the month of May, when Mr. Foster visited the Troad, 
the course of the stream is not very observable. Mr. Frere, in a letter to the editor 
dated from Pera, speaks in the following manner of it : — " Descending from the south- 
ward the hills into the plain of the Thymbrius, we came to the left bank of that 
river, a little below Halel Eli (fig. 47.), and following its course upwards, crossed it 
at a ford at the eastern extremity of the village, and, winding to the left through an 
extensive tract of ruins, then riding some time west, or north-west, along a plain of 
pasture, we began to ascend some gravelly hills connected with the promontory of Ajax. 
In traversing this pasture, we crossed a river, or rather a water, (for it seemed nearly 
stagnant, whereas the Thymbrius is a clear and rapid stream,) which must, I should 
say from the position of the ground, fall into the Thymbrius, but I cannot say that it 
does certainly." 

f The Kamara of Dr. Hunt is the Shimar mentioned in the Journal of his fellow- 
traveller, Professor Carlyle. See Major Rennell's Topography of Troy. Dr. Hunt says 
the word is written in his own papers Kamara and Tchamara. Kamara is an arch 
in modern Greek ; hence applied to an aqueduct. K is pronounced in many parts of 
the Levant as tch ; the word Tchamara the Professor writes Shimar. 



608 



THE TROAD. 



the village of Kalefatli ; consequently it cannot be the Simois, or the 
Scamander of Demetrius, as it neither approaches Sigseum at fig. 1. 
and 2., nor Rhaeteum at fig. 49. 

3. In the valley of Gheumbrek, D'Anville places the Simois ; (see 
Rennell's Observations on the Plain of Troy, 44.) Sandys the 
traveller, also, supposes it was to be found in that part of the plain ; 
" nearer Sigseum was the station for the Grecian navy ; but nearer 
Rhaeteum, the river Simois, now called Simores, discharges itself into 
the Hellespont." 

4. If we suppose the Simois to flow in the valley of Gheumbrek, 
we may easily explain the words of Ptolemy, who notices, in order, 

the following places, — Ka.a8a.vov' IrtpoevTog ttoto.^ou wjpiXou' ZKctpoivdoou 
7TOruftou 6Kj2oXa). Y.iyazv otxoov. L. 5. 

5. We may ask on what authority the Thymbrius and plain of 
Thymbria have been placed at fig. 46, 47, 48. There is no mention 
of Thymbra but once in Homer, II. k. 430. It is there only said, 
" that the Carians and troops of other nations are towards the sea ; 
but towards Thymbra are the Lycians, Mysians, Phrygians, and 
Maeonians. 

Upog p\v aXog Kccotc. . . 

Yloog ©v[/,/2^7jg o tXayov Avkioi. 

We learn nothing from this passage concerning the situation of 
Thymbra, except that instead of being near the sea, as it has been 
generally placed, the opposition expressed in the words of the poet 
would lead us to seek for it at a distance from the sea. 

And if we examine the words of Demetrius, we shall also see that 
Thymbra cannot be placed where we are generally directed to look for 
it, at fig. 47, 48. These figures are not distant, at the utmost, two miles 
from New Ilium, which stood between fig. 48. and 15. ; but Thymbra 
was five English miles from New Ilium, or fifty stadia. This is the 
obvious deduction from the words in Strabo: — UXvio-iov etrri (tu ttuXohu 

XlTlCTftOiTi} TO TTt¥lOV Vj 0U ( «/?pa, K0i\ St CiVTOV 'oSCOV 7TOTa.fA.O; Ouy,/2pi0r } £fJ,(2u\XCt)V 

tig tov Ziia.p.a.vfyoi, Kara, ro QvpppcZiov * hiroXKtavog i'epV rev vuv 'iXtov 

7TtvT7jKcvTx <jTa.$lovg lUffi, Lib. xiu. Ox. ed. 862. " The plain Thym- 



THE TROAD. 



609 



bra and the river flowing through it (which joins the Scamander near 
the temple of Apollo) are in the vicinity of the ancient city, but 
distant fifty stadia from New Ilium."* If we suppose with Bryant, 
that the words apply to the conflux of the Thymbrius and Sca- 
mander, the conclusion is the same. 

If, then, Thymbra was near to the site of Old Troy, according to 
Demetrius (and in Homer we find nothing to the contrary), on what 
authority, we may repeat, has it ever been placed by those who con- 
sider Bournabashi, as representing the situation of old Troy, at a con- 
siderable distance from this village? 

6. At Thymbra was a Temple of Apollo, as we learn from Strabo ; 
by the Scholiast on Homer, II. %. 430., we are told it was ispov 
eiriQuveg. Dr. Hunt found at Atche-keui, to the S. E. of Tchiblak (fig. 
45. in Mr. Foster's map), some ruins and Greek inscriptions ; one of 
the latter mentions Apollo. In this very part of the plain we are 
about five miles from New Ilium, the distance of Thymbra from that 
place as given by Demetrius. A stream flowing near Atche-keui is 
noticed in Kauffer's map ; the same is also observed by Mr. Hob- 
house, 153. In this district of the Troad he was inclined to seek the 
plain of Thymbra and the river Thymbrius ; and Dr. Hunt's disco- 
very of the ruins there, and the inscription mentioning the name of 
Apollo, may be considered as pointing out the site of the temple of 
that deity, and confirming Mr. Hobhouse's opinion. 

7. Demetrius, when speaking of the Simoisian and Scamandrian 
plains, uses these words: — " A certain ridge or hilly tract of consider- 
able size separates each of these mentioned plains one from the 
other. It takes its beginning straight from New Ilium ; is connected 
with (or attached to) it, and reaches to Cebrenia." Aiepyst <T Udrepov 



* For the site of New Ilium, see Dr. Clarke's Travels, vol. iii., and Sir W. Gell's Topo- 
graphy, p. 117. " The discovery of inscriptions ascertaining the site of New Ilium," &c. 

f 'Ao^ijv, collis; rbv Stv%evct 8»a^coo-«j, Plut. in Pericle, collem cingens. Constant. Lexic. 
The avyyv rcov s. a. implies, that the ridge of land stretches out from the two bending hills 
which he had before mentioned. 

4 i 



£|q THE TROAD. 

luQ'eiag U7T0 tov vvv 'ix/ou rvjv tkoyyw %x,Mj trvpQvrjg * aurw, yivo-pevog J' Bug Tv\g 
Ke0ppioi& Now there is no other ridge or elevation in the whole 
Troad to which these words can be applied, but that marked 44, 44. 
in Mr. Foster's map ; there is no other commencing from New Ilium.; 
no other connected with it, and running towards Cebrenia. If, then, 
the plain of the Mender be one of the plains separated by this ridge 
from the other plain, namely, that in which the Gheumbrek runs, 
we have found the Scamander and Simois of Demetrius ; for the 
Scamandrian plain is, he says, the " broader" of the two ; and that 
expression only applies to the plain A, A, where the Mender flows, 
consequently the other is the Simoisian, and the Simois is in the 
Gheumbrek valley. 

8. In Major Rennell's Observations on the Topography of Troy, 
p. 29., the passage we have quoted from Demetrius is thus rendered : — 
" A narrow ridge divides each of the above plains from the other, 
beginning near the present Ilium ;" but peyag ng c&m$jp. is not a narrow 
ridge ; W evQdxg «Vo r. v. L, does not mean " beginning near the 
present Ilium ;" but from the present Ilium ; and the words o-vppvvjg 
dvTu are omitted. We shall make no other remark than this ; that 
if the passage had been properly translated, it would not have suited 
Major Rennell's hypothesis. See the plate in his work, No. 2., where 
the ridge of land which he considers as corresponding to the dvyjv of 
Strabo, is not represented as beginning from New Ilium, and is not 
connected with it. 

9. With respect to the Tryyou of the Scamander, mentioned by the 
poet, II. 22., it is evident that Demetrius thought one of them was 
to be found, namely, the cold source, and not in the mountain but in 
the plain ; he interprets the word iftqyvi in the sense of " source near 
the river;" diol to vXyirtov mat tou %Kccpocvfyov ; instead of" source of the 
river." The hot spring he thought had failed. We mention this, 
because it is generally supposed that the words in Strabo are the ex- 



* iuju,pvrj$ is the reading of four MSS. ; it means adhcerens. See Steph. in voc. 



THE TROAD. 



611 



planation given by the geographer ; but, by referring to the first book 
we shall find that they are the words of Demetrius. 

These* few remarks may show, that notwithstanding the diligence 
and. curiosity of some preceding travellers who have visited the Troad, 
there remains still much to be done. The ruins and inscriptions 
found at Atche-keui by Dr. Hunt were never yet mentioned, and more 
documents may be found which will inform us of the names of some 
of the cities of the Troad, and guide us more surely in our investi- 
gation of the antiquities of the country. 



* Those who have attended to the controversy respecting the Troad, will recollect the 
attempts which have been made to appropriate theThrosmos of the poet to some particu- 
lar feature in the plain. But may we not adopt the plain and simple explanation given by 
an excellent scholar and critic ? " 'Ew\ 9pa<r[L% ttsSi'ojo, in campo bellico ; in campi planitie 
ad pugnam apta." Wyttenbach Anim. in Plut. ii. 1112. Mr. Hobhouse (see his Travels, 
p. 758.) will be glad to see his opinion confirmed by such good authority. 



4 i 2 



( 613 ) 



NOTES. 



Page 475. The Orchomenian Inscription. 

Mr. Dobree has lately communicated to Dr. Clarke some observations on 
the Orchomenian marbles : they are printed in the new edition of that 
volume of Clarke's Travels which contains the inscriptions ; and they are 
now inserted in this work, as they supply the deficiencies in the translation 
which has been given of the third inscription. 

" Inscription III. ; line 13. — I put a comma after enivoftldg. Let Eubulus 
have a right of pasturage for a given time ; that is to say, the right of 
grazing, for four years, 220 head of cattle, including horses ; and 1000 
sheep, including goats ; L e. a horse to reckon as an ox, and a goat as a 
sheep. 

" Line 19. Noju-cov^ is the contractor who farms the public pasture land : thus 
tsXwvijj, epymvitfi (Chandler. Marm. Or. xlix.), &c. Eubulus enters his cattle 
at the offices of the treasurer and of the contractor, that their accounts may 
check each other. 

" Line 20. K«uju,«, or eyxav^u, is a burnt-in mark ; see Scaliger on Varro de 
L. L. p. 107. ed. 1619, and the Notes on Hesychius, vv. xamarbts and 
Tpvo-lnmov. Eubulus is to register, 1st, the marks of his cattle, horses, &c. 
specifying any that may be unmarked ; 2d, the number of each sort. 

" Line 22. Jwv&i is for 2m (&oo- ( ), I being put for E, as in AmNO0ETIONTO3 
and AOKIEI, in the Orchomenian inscriptions, and for ovo-yc, in one at 

Thebes, which Pococke has given with his characteristic inaccuracy. 

In the first inscription, lines 3. and 4. the marble seems rather to have XPIOS 
than XHO^. This was pointed out to me by one of the gentlemen at the 
Museum. May it not be right, taking it for XPE02, a debt?" — Mr. 
Dobree's Note. 



614 



NOTES. 



The third inscription, beginning with line 19. may be thus written, ac- 
cording to Mr. Dobree, in the common dialect : — 

exxtrTOV Ttctpct tov TUjx.iuv xui tov vofxco- 

VfiCV TCC T£ XO.VjJ.UTM TCOV ■Kpofta.Twv xcti 

Twv a.iywv xcti twv /3ocov xcti tcov umcuv, xolv 

riva acoj/xa a><n, xcti to TrXrjfloj* fj.fi 

enroypctQeo-Qoo 8s 7r\etovct tw yeypctfx- 

JJ.SVU0V ev TYj o-vy^wpYjosi. E«v Se Tig 

£/*7rp«TT>) to evvofxiov Eu/3ovXov, o<p£tX- 

£To> ^ ttoXij tcov Op^ojxevicuv ctpyvpiov 

fj.vctg TeTTctpctxovTct Eu/3ouXcp xa3' £xa- 

(TTOv £V»«utov xai toxov ipepeTco $pct%- 

ju.ac T))5 jw.v«c; Exatmjc; x«Ta jtAijva 

SXOLVTOV, XCtl efATTpCtXTOC. ECTTCO Eu/3(3UXa) 
X«T« TOUJ TCUV Op%OfJ.eVl(JOV VOfAOVf. 

Page 499. line 5. 

For " Kalos," substitute " Talos and add, " The authority forTalos rests 
not so much on the passage from Lucian's Piscator, quoted in a subsequent 
note, as on those readings and authorities which are cited by Wesseling ad 
Diod. S. and others; V. not. ad pag. 160, in the Annotationes in Piscat. 
Bipont Ed." 

Page 499. line 13. 

This idea of the position of the Sepulchre of Talos and the Temple of 
iEsculapius is confirmed by a passage in the Piscator of Lucian, where 
Parrhesiades, after proclaiming from the Acropolis the invitation to the 
philosophers, and the promise of a bonus of two minae, some figs, and a 

SesamUS Cake, Cries OUt, Ba|3a», mj wX^pyjj fj.lv i) a-volog wQityfj-evcov, £7te( Tag Ivo fxvag wg 
f l xovo~ctv fj.ovov. Ylapa Zl to YleXao-yixov «XXo<, xa) xaTct to AcrxXr)7ri£iov eTepoi, xa) %ep) tov "Apeiov 
itctyov et» TtKe'lOVg' evtoi 5e xa) xutu. tov too TaXoo Tcttyov' bi Se xcti npog to Avaxelov Ttpo^efxevot 
xXlfiMxas uvkp-KOWi $o\i&r$ov vr) Ala xa) [ioTpvtiov, eo~fj.au Si'xrjv, '(vet xa) xa$' ''0/j.rjpov emeu. 

Whoever has been at Athens, and has not been inattentive to the manners 
and customs of the present inhabitants, will be at no loss to comprehend 
what is here meant by the two eatable presents which allured the philo- 
sophers, namely, the 7rax«0ij Wxulw, and the o-r,o- analog wXaxovg- How often he 
must have noticed the strings of dried figs in the market, and the surface of 
the cakes there strewed with sesamum seeds. 



4- 



NOTES. 615 
Page 504. line 18. 

It appears, from what occurs in Lucian's Dialogue, entitled " The Ship," 
that although Pausanias, as an antiquary, thinks proper to enter the city by 
the Pirsean gate ; yet the usual road from the Piraeus at this time was 
towards Dipylon, where it is at present. As the long walls were then 
demolished, and the principal part of the city on the north of the ^cropolis, 
the road must have been obviously in this direction. 



THE END. 



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